Department for Transport

East Coast Rail Franchise

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the review of the Stagecoach and Virgin Trains passport on the Virgin Trains East Coast franchise started five weeks before his Department made the decision to terminate that contract in June 2018.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Stagecoach were informed on 27 March 2018 explaining that the Department was going to convene a Discretionary Rejection panel (the passport review panel) in anticipation of a termination event.

East Coast Rail Franchise

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, by what date all of the additional direct trains between Shipley/Bradford and London under the East Coast franchise will be introduced.

Chris Heaton-Harris: LNER intends to introduce the outstanding direct services as soon as possible and is working to finalise timescales. I’ve asked LNER to meet the Honourable gentleman to provide an update.

Department for Transport: Iron and Steel

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of total cost of UK steel and steel tubes as a proportion of  all steel procured by his Department in 2019.

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of total cost of UK steel and steel products as a proportion of all steel procured by his Department in 2019.

Chris Heaton-Harris: In DfT, steel is only purchased directly by Network Rail. Between Jun 2018-19 the value of their UK steel procurements was approximately 93% percent of the total value of their steel contracts. The next report will be on data from Jun 2019-20. Both Highways England and High Speed Two Ltd procure steel through their respective supply chains.

Department for Transport: Iron and Steel

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with representatives of (a) Network Rail and (b) Highways England on the potential support of those organisations for the UK Steel Charter.

Chris Heaton-Harris: I can confirm that discussions have taken place with representatives of a) Network Rail and b) Highways England and that both organisations have committed to supporting the Charter where this is relevant to their commercial activities and where consistent with the relevant public procurement regulations.

Railways: Durham

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department received representations from (a) Durham county council and (b) the previous Member for North West Durham on re-opening a rail link to Consett between the end of April 2017 and 14 November 2019.

Chris Heaton-Harris: To help communities across the country, the Government has pledged £500m to start reopening lines closed following the Beeching report, reconnecting smaller towns, regenerating local economies and improving accessibility to jobs, homes and education. Further details about this funding will be announced in due course. I can confirm that my Department has not received any representations from Durham County Council in the period between April 2017 and 14 November 2019 on the subject of re-opening a rail link to Consett. My predecessor responded to a written question from the previous Member for North West Durham on this subject on 22 November 2017 (Hansard Ref:113009).

Railways: Carbon Emissions

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the planned publication date is for Network Rail's Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy.

George Freeman: Network Rail’s Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy (TDNS) will be complete later this year. TDNS will inform our Transport Decarbonisation Plan, to be published this year, which will set out a credible and ambitious plan for the UK to ensure transport delivers its contribution to net zero greenhouse gas emissions. No date has been agreed for publication of TDNS.

Manchester Piccadilly Station

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his oral evidence of 16 October 2019 to the Transport Committee, Questions 13 and 14, what progress has been made on resolving the problems relating to platforms 13 and 14 at Manchester Piccadilly station.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Department is working closely with Network Rail, train operators, and stakeholders, to develop options for improving rail capacity and performance through Central Manchester, especially affecting Manchester Piccadilly station Platforms 13 and 14. Some work to these platforms has already been carried out to improve performance and passenger experience, including better customer information systems, and improvements to passenger circulation areas.

Airports: Carbon Emissions

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the planned expansion of UK airports is compatible with the Government's policy on CO2 reduction.

Paul Maynard: The Government recognises that the fight against climate change is the greatest and most pressing challenge facing the modern world. The Government is committed to setting a clear ambition for the aviation sector and is carefully considering the advice of the Committee on Climate Change. We are planning to consult shortly on an update to the Government’s position on aviation and climate change. It is critical that we consider how aviation can play its part in delivering our net zero ambitions, in order that the aviation sector can continue to thrive. The Airports National Policy Statement guarantees that any new runway at Heathrow will only be built if an applicant for development consent can demonstrate that any increase in carbon emissions from the scheme will not materially impact the government’s ability to meet its carbon reduction targets, now and in the future. The Government is also supportive of airports making best use of their existing capacity, subject to the assessment of the merits of individual applications, including consideration of their environmental impacts. The government set out its policy position for the South East of England in Beyond the Horizon: The future of UK aviation: Making best use of existing runways.

Railways: Veterans

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with devolved administrations on the provision of a veterans' railcard.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Most railcards can be used across Great Britain given the interconnected nature of rail services, and I have written to my counterparts in Wales and Scotland to encourage them to accept the Veterans’ Railcard on services for which they are responsible. I will also be engaging with my counterpart in Northern Ireland to explore options for ensuring it is also valid there. Passengers will be fully appraised of the railcard’s validity before it goes live, and this will include how to apply and the detailed terms and conditions.

Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

Elections: Personation

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many convictions there have been for in-person voter fraud in (a) the London Borough of Lewisham, (b) London and (c) the UK in each of the last five years.

Bridget Phillipson: The Commission has collected and published information about allegations of electoral fraud from the police since 2008.The Commission’s data shows that between 2014 and 2018 there were no convictions of in-person voter fraud in the London Borough of Lewisham. There was one conviction in the Waltham Forest constituency at the 2017 UK Parliamentary General Election. In total there have been two convictions in the UK for in-person voter fraud during the period specified; these occurred in Waltham Forest (as noted above) and in East Ayrshire at the 2016 EU Referendum.The Commission will publish information about allegations of electoral fraud during 2019 in spring 2020.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Business: Iraq

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information she holds on the number of UK-based businesses operating in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq; and if she will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: We do not hold information on UK-based businesses operating in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq. Advice for businesses wishing to do business in Iraq, including the Kurdistan region, is available on Gov.uk.

Fuel Poverty: Nottingham South

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps she plans to take to tackle fuel poverty in Nottingham South constituency.

Kwasi Kwarteng: Improving energy efficiency is the best long-term solution to tackle fuel poverty and the Energy Company Obligation Scheme provides such support for low income and vulnerable households. Since ECO launched it has delivered energy efficiency measures to more than 2 million households.ECO has delivered improvements to more than 6000 homes in Nottingham South, representing 14% of households in the area.Tenants living in energy inefficient properties are some of the most at risk of fuel poverty. The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards now require landlords spend up to £3500 improving their properties to energy efficiency Band E before renting them out.In addition to support to improve energy efficiency, the Warm Home Discount provides support to more than 2 million low income and vulnerable households each year through a £140 rebate. Over £2.7 billion has been provided by the scheme over the last nine years.Our 2020 Fuel Poverty Strategy will set out further detail around our future plans to tackle fuel poverty.

Business: Finance

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when her Department plans to announce the results of its competition to fund projects exploring the creation of market platforms for flexibility.

Kwasi Kwarteng: We welcome interest in the FleX Competition which was launched by BEIS in 2019 to support the development and demonstration of innovative solutions to value and trade flexibility in the energy system. Following selection and detailed due diligence of the project teams which will be supported by the FleX Competition, details of winning projects will be formally announced in due course. In line with the FleX Competition guidance, the projects are due to be completed by end December 2021 with dissemination activities led by the individual project teams also taking place during the project delivery period. Details of the FleX Competition can be found on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flexibility-exchange-demonstration-projects-flex-competition.

Mineworkers' Pension Scheme

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the timeframe is for the implementation of the long-term protection of pension bonuses for members for the Mineworkers' Pensions Scheme.

Kwasi Kwarteng: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent on 15 January 2020 to Question 1709.

Members: Correspondence

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will respond to the correspondence dated 9 January 2020 from Jamie Hepburn MSP and the hon. Member for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East, on alternative proposals to keep open the Cummins factory in Cumbernauld.

Nadhim Zahawi: The correspondence referred to is currently receiving attention. A reply will be issued shortly.

Cummins UK: Cumbernauld

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions she has had with representatives from Cummins on that company's proposals to close its factory in Cumbernauld.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Government regularly engages with manufacturers and manufacturing trade associations on opportunities to support the growth and competitiveness of manufacturing sectors in the UK. Ultimately, the proposed closure of Cummins’ Cumbernauld factory is a commercial decision for the company.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Refugees: Climate Change

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for the Government's policies of the ruling of the United Nations Human Rights Committee on climate change refugee repatriation.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The British Government has taken note of the views of the UN Human Rights Committee's in the case concerned, which are not legally binding. We also note that the Committee made wider comments, including on the responsibilities of receiving states in relation to non-refoulement where the effects of climate change have been a driver of migration. However under the 1951 Refugee Convention, climate change does not of itself constitute a basis for requesting/granting refugee status.Evidence shows that climate extremes and environmental degradation are often amplifiers of other principal migration drivers (economic, social and political), but decisions to migrate are rarely mono-causal. We recognise the complexity of causes of migration and the importance of providing people with options for sustainable livelihoods that do not compel them to migrate. More broadly, as climate change increases its impact on migration it is imperative that efforts are redoubled to limit warming and to help vulnerable people to adapt to change. Climate change is a reality that requires greater and more coordinated adaptation and mitigation planning.

Georgia: Peacekeeping Operations

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK will continue to take part in the EU monitoring mission in Georgia after leaving the EU on 31 January 2020.

Christopher Pincher: The United Kingdom currently has six secondees in the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia. Whilst the Withdrawal Agreement provides for continued British participation in the EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) operations and missions during the transition period, all six will leave the mission when their current contracts come to an end on 31 January. This follows decisions taken by the European External Action Service (EEAS) to meet the operational needs and ensure the business continuity of the mission.The United Kingdom is proud to have contributed personnel to EUMM Georgia since its inception in 2008, and we continue to support the objectives of the mission.

China: Coronavirus

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on the novel coronavirus detected in the city of Wuhan; and what assessment he has made of the risk posed by the novel coronavirus to (a) British citizens in China and (b) to the UK.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Foreign Secretary spoke to his Chinese counterpart on 28 January about the coronavirus. The British Government is liaising directly with our international partners and the Chinese authorities through our Embassy in Beijing.To date there have been no cases of British nationals confirmed with the virus. We are liaising directly with Public Health England, who currently assess the threat to the UK to be low. Based on the emerging evidence regarding case numbers, potential sources, and human to human transmission, we have advised against all travel to Hubei Province.​

China: Uighurs

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on the alleged detention of Uighur Muslims.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: We regularly raise our concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang with the Chinese authorities at senior levels, and most recently our British Ambassador to China raised our concerns with Vice Foreign Minister Qin Gang on 24 December 2019. We also regularly discuss the situation in Xinjiang with likeminded partners including at the UN. We have issued or joined a number of statements registering our concern in recent months: on 29 October 2019 at UN Third Committee, the UK read out a joint statement signed by 22 others drawing attention to the human rights violations and abuses in Xinjiang and called on China to uphold its obligations to respect human rights. On 24 September 2019, during the UN General Assembly the Minister of State for the Commonwealth, UN and South Asia called on China to allow UN observers immediate and unfettered access to the region. On 17 September 2019, at the 42nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, the UK again called for UN experts to be granted unfettered access to Xinjiang and raised our concerns on arbitrary detention.

Armenia: Lydian International

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, how many visits to the British Embassy in Yerevan (a) employees and (b) representatives of the company Lydian International made in the last five years, including at official dinners.

Christopher Pincher: Our Embassy in Yerevan does not hold comprehensive figures on visitors to the Embassy over the last five years. A key role of our Embassies around the world is to engage with businesses active in the local market.

China: Uighurs

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 17 October 2019 to question 261 on China: Uighurs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that items for sale in the UK do not originate from sources that use forced labour; and which agency is tasked with investigating suspicions of slavery in supply chains.

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 17 October 2019 to Question 261 on China: Uighurs, which body oversees compliance by companies with the Modern Slavery Act 2015; and how many companies that body has investigated in respect of providing (a) misleading and (b) insufficient evidence in their modern slavery statements.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: As I mentioned in my answer of 17 October 2019, the UK Government is taking steps to ensure goods sold in the UK do not originate from sources that use forced labour. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office works closely with the Home Office in helping companies and industry stakeholders understand their risks overseas, and officials continue to monitor the situation in China.The Government is committed to the eradication of all forms of forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking as set out in Sustainable Development Goal 8.7, and has made tackling modern slavery a foreign policy priority. The Home Office have responsibility for ensuring compliance with Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which obliges certain commercial organisations to publish a modern slavery statement for each financial year. The requirement to publish annual statements is designed to drive progress against long-term strategies, to assess risks and identify priority areas for business improvement. As the published statutory guidance sets out, the Modern Slavery Act emphasises a transparency-focused approach rather than investigations of due diligence.The Home Office has written twice to the CEOs of companies identified as in scope of the legislation with clear information about how to meet their obligations. Following an Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act the Home Office has also consulted on proposals to strengthen the legislation and introduce new enforcement powers. The Home Office is currently analysing the responses to this consultation and will respond in due course.

Department of Health and Social Care

Gender Recognition

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Gender Identity Services patients identified as (a) binary and (b) non-binary in each of the last five years.

Jo Churchill: Information regarding patients’ gender identity is not collected centrally.

Gender Recognition: Health Services

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the procurement of the new NHS England Gender Identity Services for Adults will have adequate capacity to ensure that the NHS 18-week first referral to treatment target will be met.

Jo Churchill: The outcome of the procurement for Gender Dysphoria Services for Adults (Non-Surgical Interventions) is not yet complete, and decisions about contract award have not been notified to bidders.In light of the substantial increase in demand for these services, the historical model for service delivery within designated Gender Dysphoria Clinics will not be able to address the need.To meet this need, new and innovative service models are being piloted by NHS England in primary care, sexual health services, and other local health settings across England to increase clinical capacity and improve patient access. This is supported by a new Gender Identity Healthcare Credential Programme to build the clinical workforce to deliver care.The Gender Identity Healthcare Credential offers the first accredited qualification of its type in the United Kingdom. It has been developed by the Royal College of Physicians with funding from NHS England. The programme has been created to support the development of gender dysphoria health services by suitably trained health professionals. It is an interprofessional programme, focused on the next generation of clinical leaders. This will enable the NHS to meet the workforce needs and allow the delivery of increased gender dysphoria healthcare.

Gender Recognition: Health Services

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what provisions he has put in place in the new NHS Gender Identity Services specification for people who define as non-binary .

Jo Churchill: The specification is clear that access to the National Health Service-funded pathway of care is dependent on a clinical diagnosis of gender dysphoria by a specialist health team.The specification recognises and respects diversity in gender identity and its expression.It recognises that there are other identities than the traditional (binary) identities associated with ‘man’ and ‘woman’, and that gender diverse people with such identities (such as non-binary, trans-feminine, trans-masculine, Genderqueer, non-gender and others), who meet the criteria for access to the NHS pathway of care, must have access to treatment and the interventions described in the specification.

Gender Recognition: Prescriptions

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to clinical commissioning groups was of prescribing products related to gender identity for transgender and non-binary patients in each of the last five years.

Jo Churchill: The information regarding cost to clinical commissioning groups for prescribing products related to gender identity, transgender and non-binary use is not collected centrally.

Gender Recognition: Prescriptions

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will instruct Clinical Commissioning Groups to fund the cost of prescribing products related to gender identity for transgender and non-binary patients to ensure compliance with the Equalities Act 2010 throughout the health service.

Jo Churchill: The Department is aware of some general practitioners who have declined to accept prescribing responsibility, but we are not aware of any clinical commissioning groups refusing to fund the drugs.All National Health Service organisations are expected to comply with Public Sector Equalities Duties and the Equalities Act 2010.

Gender Recognition: Health Services

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timeframe is for the completion of the procurement process for the new NHS Gender Identity Services for Adults.

Jo Churchill: The contracts will be awarded to successful bidders in the procurement process for implementation from April 2020.

Cancer: Health Services

Mohammad Yasin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to implement a cancer workforce plan to ensure an adequately skilled and sustainable workforce.

Jo Churchill: The National Health Service published the interim NHS People Plan on 3 June 2019. It sets out the long-term vision and immediate actions to meet the challenges of supply, reform, culture and leadership.The final NHS People Plan will be informed by the Cancer Workforce Plan for England, published in December 2017 by Health Education England. This set out plans to expand capacity and skills in the cancer workforce, including targeting additional training support for seven priority professions such as clinical radiology, histopathology, oncology and diagnostic and therapeutic radiography. Since 2017 there has been a net increase of 833 full time equivalent staff across the seven priority professions.The final NHS People Plan will be published in early 2020 and will set out a clear framework for collective action on workforce priorities, with a focus on growing and sustaining a well-skilled workforce across the whole National Health Service.

Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs: Death

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) alcohol and (b) drug-related deaths have there been in the last five years in (i) Preston, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) the North West.

Jo Churchill: A total of 358 alcohol-related deaths in Preston, 3,075 alcohol-related deaths in Lancashire and 18,757 alcohol related-deaths in the North West occurred in the last five years for which data is available (2014 – 2018). This data is available on the Local Alcohol Profiles for England webpage published by Public Health England which can be viewed at the following link: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/local-alcohol-profiles Drugs poisoning deaths are published by the Office for National Statistics for overlapping three-year periods and are shown in the following table. They cannot be summed to create figures for other time periods: YearPrestonLancashireNorth West2012-142223415302013-152724016582014-163126517582015-173928318352016-18392991888 They can be viewed at the following link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/drugmisusedeathsbylocalauthority

Dental Services: Children

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children aged under ten years old in Bradford were admitted to hospital for tooth decay in each year since 2010.

Jo Churchill: A table showing the count of finished admission episodes with a primary diagnosis of dental caries (tooth decay) for patients aged under 10 years old and that are resident in the Bradford area is attached.



pq5450 table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 23.83 KB)

Dental Services: Bradford

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost was to the public purse of tooth extractions in Bradford in each year since 2010.

Jo Churchill: The information is not available in the format requested.

Blood Cancer: Medical Treatments

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people with (a) relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and (b) children with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia have received CAR-T therapies in each of the last five years.

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) people with relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and (b) children with relapsed ALL have received CAR-T therapy at each JACIE accredited treatment centre.

Jo Churchill: Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies have been available since November 2018 (acute lymphoblastic leukaemia) and December 2018 (relapsed DLBCL). The first patients were reinfused in January 2019. Therefore, the only data we have for the last five years is for 2019 and 2020. We do not have numbers for people treated in trials. Number of people with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma that have received CAR-T therapies in each of the last five years: Indication20192020*Diffuse large B cell lymphoma133Suppressed due to small numbersNote: *Up to 21 January 2020 Number of children with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia that have received CAR-T therapies in each of the last five years: Indication20192020*Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia20Suppressed due to small numbersNote: *Up to 21 January 2020 We are unable to provide the numbers of people with relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and children with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia that have received CAR-T therapy at each Joint Accreditation Committee ISCT-Europe & EBMT (JACIE) accredited treatment centre treatment due to small numbers and the possibility of patients being identified. This will be possible in the future when the number of patients treated increases.

Hereditary Diseases and Rare Diseases: Health Education

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of rare and genetic conditions.

Jo Churchill: Steps to increase awareness of rare conditions and improve outcomes for those living with rare diseases are being taken through the implementation of the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rare-diseases-strategyThe Department published an update to its implementation plan for achieving the commitments in the Strategy in England in February 2019, which can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-strategy-for-rare-diseases-2019-update-to-the-implementation-plan-for-englandA second update to the implementation plan is due to be published in spring 2020.

Hereditary Diseases and Rare Diseases: Diagnosis

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure early detection of rare, genetic and undiagnosed conditions.

Jo Churchill: Steps to improve diagnosis of rare conditions are being taken through the implementation of the of the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rare-diseases-strategyThe Government is committed to making the United Kingdom a leader in embedding genomics in healthcare and offering a consistent, world class approach to the genetic identification of rare, genetic and undiagnosed conditions. The Genomic Medicine Service was announced in October 2018, supported by the National Genomic Test Directory which specifies which genomic tests are commissioned by the NHS in England, the technology by which they are available, and the patients who will be eligible to access a test.In January it was announced that the National Health Service in England is providing a new form of DNA test called whole exome sequencing capable of rapidly diagnosing rare diseases for critically ill babies and children, as part of the NHS Long Term Plan to use world leading technologies to improve care for the sickest infants. The National Genomic Healthcare Strategy, due to be published in spring 2020, will set out how the UK will build on our reputation as a world leader in genomic healthcare, focusing on a number of areas including diagnosis.

Prostate Cancer: Death

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of men dying as a result of prostate cancer.

Jo Churchill: In April 2018, the Government announced £75 million over five years for prostate cancer research, which will focus on improving early diagnosis and survival rates as well as exploring options for different treatments for men affected by the disease. Funding will be invested through the National Institute for Health Research to support a wide range of research. NHS England has invested £130 million to fund the modernisation of radiotherapy across England. This has ensured that older linear accelerators (LINACs - radiotherapy machines) being used by hospitals are being upgraded or replaced, giving cancer patients access to the latest leading edge technology regardless of where they live. Over 80 machines have been replaced or upgraded. In September 2019, the Government committed to funding £200 million for new equipment to drive earlier diagnosis of cancer and improve survival. More than 300 diagnostic machines will be installed across the country from this year, replacing outdated MRI machines and CT scans with cutting edge technology. The new machines will be AI-enabled to keep pace with future advances in technology, which allow tasks now done by humans to be done by computer.

Bladder Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been diagnosed with bladder cancer in each of the last five years.

Jo Churchill: The information requested is shown in the following table. Number of people diagnosed with bladder cancer, England, 2013-17 YearTotal20138,94720148,67820158,62620168,54220178,686

Brain: Tumours

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with (a) the Royal College of Nursing and (b) other health bodies on whether there is a link between mobile phone usage and the development of brain tumours.

Jo Churchill: Public Health England (PHE) has not held discussions with the Royal College of Nursing on whether there is a link between mobile phone usage and the development of brain tumours.Regarding other health bodies, PHE is a collaborating centre in the World Health Organization’s International Electromagnetic Fields Project. Information about this project, and the participating countries and organisations is available at the following link:https://www.who.int/peh-emf/project/en/A report by PHE’s own independent expert Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation (AGNIR) concluded that, although some positive findings have been reported in a few studies, overall the evidence does not suggest that using mobile phones causes brain tumours or any other type of cancer. The AGNIR report can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/radiofrequency-electromagnetic-fields-health-effects

Inclisiran

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when inclisiran will be available on the NHS to reduce high cholesterol.

Jo Churchill: Inclisiran, is a twice-yearly injection to help lower cholesterol. As with any other medicine, it will be subject to all usual approval processes including the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence before it becomes available on the National Health Service. Inclisiran is currently in Phase III development for secondary prevention patients with expected EMA regulatory filing in Q1 2020.

Narcolepsy

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) men and (b) women have been diagnosed with the rare brain condition cataplexy, by age group.

Jo Churchill: Cataplexy is sudden temporary muscle weakness or loss of muscular control and is a condition most commonly associated with narcolepsy. Information on diagnosis is not held in the format requested.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that women with physical disabilities are able to access cervical screening services.

Jo Churchill: No woman should be unable to access screening services because they have a disability. NHS England is continuously investing in initiatives to help ensure equality of access to screening and, through the public health functions agreement (S7A), aims to improve public health outcomes and reduce inequalities.General practitioner practices are required to ensure that their premises are suitable for the delivery of essential services and that they are sufficient to meet the reasonable needs of its patients, including those with disabilities. This involves making any necessary reasonable adjustments; making alternative arrangements, such as referral to a specialist screening provider; or undertaking the procedures in another setting that is more suitable given any limitations to a patient’s mobility. Where a patient requires specialist equipment, clinical staff will ensure that patients have access to its use in a safe environment.Professor Richards’ review of National Adult Screening programmes was published on 16 October. As part of this review, it was recommended that good practice on physical disabilities is shared to enable this to be adopted more widely. The Department, NHS England and Public Health England are considering the recommendations of Professor Richards’ report as part of a wider Screening Improvement Programme and are intending to publish an implementation plan in spring 2020.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many girls in England have received the HPV vaccine since that vaccination programme began.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the uptake of the HPV vaccination by each classified ethnic group.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that boys receive the HPV vaccination.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many boys in England have received the HPV vaccination since September 2019.

Jo Churchill: Since the introduction of the human papillomavirus (HPV) immunisation programme in 2008 three million females have received the completed HPV vaccine course in England.HPV vaccine coverage data is published annually by Public Health England (PHE) by dose and birth cohort (school year). Vaccine coverage data are not routinely collected by ethnicity.PHE developed a range of resources and communication materials targeted at the public and health professionals to support the expansion of the HPV immunisation programme to boys. These materials were developed in close collaboration with National Health Service partners and a number of relevant stakeholders from charities and academia. The resources are intended to provide all the information necessary to help teenagers and their parents make an informed decision about the HPV vaccine. Local immunisation providers should share this information and signpost teenagers and their parents to these materials when the HPV vaccination programme is offered in schools.Factsheets for school immunisation teams, headteachers and teaching teams and health professionals are available to inform parents and schools about the programme. As the programme is now universal, the fact sheet is aimed at boys and girls and gives information on the vaccination programme and is available at the following links:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/812484/PHE_HPV_vaccination_leaflet.pdf https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hpv-vaccination-and-cervical-cancer-addressing-the-mythsIn addition, PHE has also worked closely with several charities such as Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust and the Teenage Cancer Trust to develop lesson plans for schools to use to teach young people about cervical cancer and the HPV vaccine. These are available at the following links:https://www.jostrust.org.uk/information-healthcare-professionals/information-teachers https://www.teenagecancertrust.org/about-us/what-we-do/cancer-awareness/resources#cervicalcancerNHS England and NHS Improvement have commissioned all school aged providers in England to deliver the programme to boys from 1 September 2019 - making this a universal programme. In addition, NHS England and NHS Improvement central and regional Communications and Media teams, together with PHE, have and continue to develop campaigns targeted at boys in the eligible cohort, and their parents/guardians to inform and raise awareness of the availability of the vaccine.HPV vaccine coverage data is collected annually. PHE will publish first dose HPV vaccine coverage in boys for the academic year 2019/20 in December 2020.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made potential merits of the NHS providing the option of self-sampling as part of the cervical screening programme.

Jo Churchill: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), the independent body that advises Ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries on screening matters, reviewed the evidence on the use of human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling as a programme modification within the NHS cervical screening programme at its meeting in February 2019. The recommendation by the Committee recognised that self-sampling was a promising test but required further work to ensure its feasibility and value in the current screening programme. Minutes of the UK NSC’s meeting can be viewed at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/uk-national-screening-committee-uk-nscThe UK NSC welcomes any published peer review evidence that can support the use of self-sampling within the cervical screening programme.

Cervical Cancer: Medical Equipment and Research

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS England press release, entitled Potential to eliminate cervical cancer in England thanks to NHS Long Term Plan, published on 20 January 2020, if he will publish which (a) technology and (b) research will be in receipt of that funding.

Jo Churchill: The introduction of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for girls, and for boys from 2019 as committed to in the NHS Long Term Plan, has reduced the incidence of cancer-causing HPV strains to below 2% in 16 to 18-year old women. Experts say that the vaccine offers the potential to eliminate cervical cancer completely. As part of the Long Term Plan ambition to diagnose 75% more cancers at an earlier stage, the Department has funded £200 million for new equipment to drive earlier diagnosis of cancer and improve survival. More than 300 diagnostic machines will be funded across the country, replacing outdated MRI machines, CT scans and breast screening equipment with cutting edge technology. The Department invests £1 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health Research, of which expenditure on cancer research was £132 million in 2018/19.

Mental Health Services: Prisons and Youth Custody

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much NHS England has spent on commissioning mental health services to treat patients in (a) youth offender institutes, (b) secure children’s homes and (c) prisons in each year for which information is available.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Holding answer received on 27 January 2020



The information is not available in the requested format.

Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients: Death

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people who were detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 died in each year since 2010.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Holding answer received on 27 January 2020



Information on the number of people detained under the Mental Health Act and who died subsequent to detention is not held centrally. Information on the number of deaths in detention is attached.



pq6047 table
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Psychiatric Hospitals: Standards

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to Answer of 16 January 2020 to Question 2462 on Psychiatric Hospitals: Standards, how many mental health hospitals rated as (a) good and (b) outstanding by the CQC are (i) independent mental health hospitals and (ii) NHS hospitals.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Holding answer received on 27 January 2020



The following table shows the number of independent mental health hospitals and National Health Service mental health hospitals that are rated as good and outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), as at 22 January 2020.  -Locations and providers currently rated Good and Outstanding, by Primary Inspection CategoryTotal number of locations and providers currently rated Good and OutstandingLocation/Provider Primary Inspection CategoryOutstandingGood-Mental health - community and hospital - independent23159182Mental health - community and residential - NHS64147Total29200229 Source: CQC database as at 22 January 2020

Pregnancy: Streptococcus

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of women undertake a strep B test during pregnancy; and what plans his Department has to make that test compulsory for all pregnant women.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The test that is used currently to detect strep B during pregnancy is the Asymptomatic Bacteriuria test, which is generally used to detect more common bacterial infections such as E. Coli and Klebsiella. The data on the number of women who undertake an Asymptomatic Bacteriuria test to identify strep B specifically is not collected.The UK National Screening Committees last reviewed the evidence to introduce screening for Group B Strep (GBS) at 35 to 37 weeks of pregnancy in 2017 and concluded that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the benefits of screening would outweigh the harms.The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has commissioned a clinical trial to compare universal screening for GBS against usual risk-based care. This £2.8 million trial (GBS3 trial) was launched in April 2019 and is due to report after four years. The UK NSC will review its recommendation in light of the evidence from the trial, after it reports in 2023.

Autism: Diagnosis

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time is for an autism diagnosis.

Caroline Dinenage: We do not currently hold average waiting times for an autism diagnosis.

Tranquillisers: Rehabilitation

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to create specialist withdrawal services to help patients who are dependent, providing information on prescribed (a) benzodiazepine and (b) z drug tranquillisers.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will include treatment for patients who have become dependent on prescription drugs in the new cross-government addiction strategy.

Jo Churchill: We are publishing a new United Kingdom-wide cross-Government addiction strategy in 2020. We will be establishing clear ambitions for reducing drug deaths and including problem gambling for the first time. More detail on the strategy will be announced later this year.

Cancer

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of (a) prostate cancer among men and (b) breast cancer among women.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 27 January 2020



It is not known exactly what causes prostate cancer, or breast cancer, although a number of things can increase the risk of developing the condition. These include age, ethnic group, family history, obesity and diet. There are no interventions that can reduce the prevalence of prostate cancer or breast cancer for the first three risk factors, although the Government does have strategies in place to reduce obesity and improve diets, such as Change4Life.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with health professionals to ensure that gay and bisexual men in (a) the North West, (b) Liverpool City Region, (c) Wirral and (d) Wallasey have access to places on the PrEP Impact Trial.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 27 January 2020



Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is currently provided in England through the three-year PrEP Impact Trial. Participation in the trial is on a voluntary basis and it is for clinics and local authorities to decide the number of allocated places they can accept. The Department has held no discussions with health professionals in the North West, Liverpool City Region, Wirral and Wallasey regarding access to places on the Trial.

Diabetes: Medical Equipment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to extend the issuing of continuous glucose monitoring systems to people who have diabetes.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 27 January 2020



Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning diabetes services, and the technologies that can be offered by these services which includes continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices, for their local populations. CCGs are best placed to do this as they are clinically led organisations that have both the local knowledge and accountability to make commissioning decisions in the best interests of their patients.The National Health Service has committed through the Long Term Plan that from April 2020, pregnant women with type 1 diabetes will be offered CGM devices, helping to improve neonatal outcomes. NHS England will support the costs of CGM devices for these patients and roll out will commence shortly.

Rare Diseases: Blood Tests

Nickie Aiken: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to review the criteria for selection of rare diseases to be included in the newborn blood spot test.

Jo Churchill: There are no plans to review the UK National Screening Committee’s (UK NSC’s) 20-point criteria for the newborn blood spot test. The newborn blood spot screening programme enables early identification, referral and treatment of babies with nine rare but serious conditions, including sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis and congenital hypothyroidism.The UK NSC welcomes proposals to screen for new conditions through its annual call for topics. The call runs from September to December each year and allows members of the public and stakeholders to submit new conditions for the UK NSC to consider and assess against its internationally recognised criteria. It is important that the addition of any new conditions to the newborn blood spot programme is supported by robust peer-reviewed evidence, and that all of our population screening programmes do more good than harm.

Radiotherapy: Medical Equipment

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of linear accelerator radiotherapy machines in use at NHS Trusts that are past the recommended 10 year lifespan; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 27 January 2020



NHS England produced a stocktake, which included age, of linear accelerators in full clinical use in 2016 as part of the Equipment Modernisation programme, which enabled 80 machines to be replaced or upgraded. Further work to update this stocktake is underway to reflect both the impact of the Equipment Modernisation programme and any local changes.

Radiotherapy: Medical Equipment

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of upgrading the NHS stock of Linear Accelerator radiotherapy machines to ensure that no machine is used beyond its recommended 10-year lifespan; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 27 January 2020



Currently no estimate has been made.In October 2015, NHS England committed to investing £130 million to fund the modernisation of radiotherapy across England. This has ensured that older linear accelerators (LINACs - radiotherapy machines) being used by hospitals are being upgraded or replaced, giving cancer patients access to the latest leading edge technology regardless of where they live. Over 80 machines have been replaced or upgraded.

Radiotherapy: Medical Equipment

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an estimate of the potential savings to the public purse from purchasing Linear Accelerator radiotherapy machines on a planned and rolling basis; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 27 January 2020



No estimate has been made.

Radiotherapy

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients travel for more than 45 minutes a day to access radiotherapy treatment; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 27 January 2020



This information is not held centrally.

Malnutrition

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many admissions there have been for malnutrition in England in the latest period for which figures are available, by age group (a) 0 to 5 years, (b) 5 to 10 years, (c) 10 to 16 years and (d) 16 years plus.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 27 January 2020



A table showing finished admission episodes with a primary diagnosis of malnutrition by selected age groups in England for 2018/19 is attached.



pq6130 table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 25.65 KB)

Social Services

Mr Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to hold cross-party talks on social care reform.

Mr Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with representatives of other political parties on the proposed cross-party talks on social care reform.

Mr Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the cross-party talks on social care reform will include discussion of issues faced by people affected by dementia.

Caroline Dinenage: Putting social care on a sustainable footing, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, is one of the biggest challenges we face as a society. The government will bring forward a plan for social care this year. There are complex questions to address, which is why we will seek to build cross-party consensus, but we have been clear: everybody will have safety and security, and nobody will be forced to sell their home to pay for care.Dementia is a priority for the Government, and we remain committed to delivering the Challenge on Dementia 2020 to make England the best country in the world for dementia care. We will be setting out our new plans on dementia for England for the period 2020-2025 later this year.

Deficiency Diseases

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospital admissions there have been for (a) scurvy, (b) rickets and (c) vitamin D deficiency in each of the last three years.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 27 January 2020



A table showing admissions with a primary diagnosis of ascorbic acid deficiency (scurvy), rickets and vitamin D deficiency nationally, 2016-17 to 2018-19, is attached.



pq6131 table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 21.74 KB)

Mental Health Services: Schools

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many schools have mental health teams.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Our Green Paper on children and young people’s mental health aims to improve the provision of services in England. One of the key proposals of the Green Paper is to create new Mental Health Support Teams in and near groups of schools and colleges in their areas. In December 2018, we announced 25 Trailblazer sites to run the first wave of 59 Mental Health Support Teams. Initial estimates suggested that each of these teams should be working with 15-20 education settings, though this will vary depending on the number of pupils in each setting. We are collecting data as Mental Health Support Teams are established and will confirm the number of education settings they are working with once that process is complete.

Mental Health Services: Children

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made in improving access to specialist mental health support for children.

Ms Nadine Dorries: We have introduced two waiting times: for 95% of children (up to 19 years old) with eating disorders to receive treatment within a week for urgent cases and four weeks for routine cases, and for 50% of patients of all ages experiencing a first episode of psychosis to receive treatment within two weeks of referral. We are on target to meet these aims. Our Children and Young People’s Green Paper sets out how we plan are piloting a four-week waiting time to improve access to services and are introducing new Mental Health Support Teams. In December 2018, we announced Trailblazer sites to test our Green Paper proposals. Twelve of these sites will trial four-week waiting times. We have also committed at least a further £2.3 billion a year to mental health services by 2023/24. The NHS Long Term Plan and Mental Health Support Teams will see at least an additional 345,000 children and young people aged 0-25 will be able to access support by 2023/24.

Health: Screening

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 4 November 2019 to Question 7034 on Health: Screening, when his Department plans to publish the implementation plan relating to Professor Sir Mike Richards’ Review of National Adult Screening programmes.

Jo Churchill: The Department, NHS England and Public Health England are considering the findings of Professor Sir Mike Richards’ report, together with recommendations made by the Public Accounts Committee and the Independent Breast Screening Review in 2019, as part of a wider screening improvement programme.We intend to publish an implementation plan in spring 2020, which will build on the findings from Professor Richards’ review and include actions that will support delivery of our vision for a more personalised, targeted screening offer as set out in the Green Paper ‘Advancing our Health: Prevention in the 2020s’.

Health: Screening

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Statement of 16 October 2019, Publication of Professor Sir Mike Richards’ Review of National Adult Screening Programmes, HCWS 11, what discussions his Department plans to hold with patient groups when developing the implementation plan on the recommendations of that review.

Jo Churchill: The Department, NHS England and Public Health England are considering the findings of Professor Sir Mike Richards’ report, together with recommendations made by the Public Accounts Committee and Independent Breast Screening Review in 2019.We will publish an implementation plan in spring 2020 and, as part of that plan, assess the level of patient group engagement required to effectively support implementation and deliver improvements to the screening programmes.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which body is responsible for overseeing national provision of extra breast screening for women with family history of breast cancer, as recommended by NICE guideline CG164.

Jo Churchill: No single body has sole responsibility for overseeing the national provision of high-risk breast screening. Provision of high-risk breast cancer screening services is currently the responsibility of National Health Service trusts, at a local level.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has produced guidance on caring for people with a family history of breast, ovarian or other related (prostate or pancreatic) cancer. In addition, the NHS Breast Screening Programme has published protocols for providers on the surveillance of women at a higher risk of developing breast cancer. This document can be viewed at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/766128/nhsbsp74.pdfAs part of a wider screening improvement programme and following publication of the vision for screening as set out in ‘Advancing our Health: Prevention in the 2020s’, the department, NHS England and Public Health England are considering how to better integrate targeted screening in high-risk groups with our current approach to population screening.

Breast Cancer: Health Services

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which body is responsible for overseeing national provision of family history clinics to support women with a family history of breast cancer.

Jo Churchill: The Manual for Prescribed Specialised Services 2018/19 sets out that NHS England and NHS Improvement commission genetic testing for inherited cancer through the Genomic Laboratory Hubs and the genetic clinical service through the Regional Clinical Genetics Services.

NHS: Negligence

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to remove the requirement to fund compensation in claims of clinical negligence on the basis it will be used for private, not NHS care.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Holding answer received on 27 January 2020



The cost of clinical negligence claims in 2018/19 was £2.36 billion, up from around £0.5 billion in 2006-7, and is now approximately 1.8% of total health expenditure. These continued year-on-year rises in costs are eating progressively into resources available for front-line care; this is unsustainable. The rises are despite our substantial safety programmes.This is a complex and sensitive issue. The Department is working intensively across Government and with the National Health Service to explore possible options, looking at all the drivers of cost. We will provide an update in due course.

Children: Death

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which NHS hospital trusts do not currently have a designated doctor for child deaths in post.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Holding answer received on 27 January 2020



The Department does not hold the information requested.

Health Services: Children in Care

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which hospital trusts do not have a designated doctor for looked-after children.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 27 January 2020



The information requested is not held centrally.

Health: Prisoners

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the findings on healthcare provision of the report by Inquest, Deaths in prison, published 22 January 2019, if he will take steps to improve the (a) physical and (b) mental wellbeing of prisoners.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Holding answer received on 27 January 2020



We are working with partners across Government to ensure offenders receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time. The National Health Service is leading on work to divert people away from the prison system and into community care, and, through its NHS Long Term Plan, it is committed to all people receiving a physical and mental health screen on entry to prison and a follow up appointment within seven days or sooner. The NHS England revised mental health and substance misuse service specifications in 2017 introduced a trauma-informed approach to care which is also reflected in the revised health and justice primary care specification due to be published in the spring. New guidance on the transfer and remission of adult prisoners to mental health hospitals is expected shortly to further support people with serious mental ill health.

Mental Health Services

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that mental health is prioritised within the Primary Care Network Contract Direct Enhanced Service Specifications 2020-21.

Jo Churchill: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Mental Health Services

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential of effect the draft service specifications for Primary Care Networks, published on 23 December 2019, on people with mental health problems.

Jo Churchill: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Obesity: Children

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of his Department's policy, Childhood obesity: a plan for action.

Jo Churchill: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Young Offender Institutions: Mental Health Services

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) mental health services and (b) mental health assessment in Young Offender Institutions; and if he will make a statement.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The Department has not made a formal assessment of the adequacy of mental health services or mental health assessment in Young Offender Institutions.Children and Young People in Young Offender Institutions should have access to the same range and quality of health services, including mental health services, as the general public receives from the National Health Service.Since April 2013, NHS England (now NHS England and NHS Improvement) has commissioned health services for all children and young people in Young Offender Institutions in England.NHS England and NHS Improvement have a number of systems in place to enable it to assess the adequacy of healthcare provision. These include quarterly contract management meetings, Children and Young People Indicators of Performance returns, quality assurance visits, a quality surveillance process, and intelligence arising from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, Ofsted and Care Quality Commission reports. In addition, NHS England and NHS Improvement work in partnership with the relevant colleagues from Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service Youth Custody Service, Ministry of Justice, Department for Education and Public Health England in responding to any concerns.

Young Offender Institutions: Solitary Confinement

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the mental health of children in young offender institutions of being placed in solitary confinement for prolonged periods of time.

Ms Nadine Dorries: We have made no formal assessment. The Youth Custody Service is reviewing the current model of separation of children and young people in young offender institutions.

Social Services

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish a Green Paper on adult social care.

Caroline Dinenage: Putting social care on a sustainable footing, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, is one of the biggest challenges we face as a society. As the Prime Minister has said, the Government will bring forward a plan for social care this year.The Government will seek to build cross-party consensus and will outline next steps shortly.

NHS: Computer Software

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the ability of elderly people to engage with the NHS App.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The NHS App launched following a period of testing from September 2018-January 2019, and now has over 250,000 registered users.The NHS app has been designed over many iterations to be as usable by all age groups. Over 65s have been included in mixed method sessions including in depth interviews and usability testing for every feature of the app produced to date, and the app overall.Over 10% of the total users are above 65 years old. As of 27 January 2020, the total number of users above 65 years old is:Age groupTotal Number of UsersOver 6524,307Over 754,674Over 90181

Dementia: Clinical Trials

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his Department's policy to increase the level of funding for the early stage of clinical trials of dementia medicines.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government remains strongly committed to supporting research into dementia and the United Kingdom research community is playing a significant role in the global effort to find a cure or a major disease-modifying treatment by 2025. The Government’s 2020 Challenge contained the commitment to spend £300 million on dementia research over the five years to March 2020. This commitment was delivered a year early with £341 million spent on dementia research over the four years to 31 March 2019. We are currently working on ways to significantly boost further research on dementia at all stages of the translation pathway, including on early-phase clinical trials.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made on the adequacy of the availability of cervical cancer screenings for women with physical disabilities.

Jo Churchill: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Buildings

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is his Department's policy that the cladding systems used on buildings throughout the National Health Service estate are required to have passed a BS8414 test.

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many buildings in the National Health Service estate have High Pressure Laminate cladding.

Edward Argar: The safety of patients, visitors and staff has always been the top priority of the National Health Service. Guidance on fire safety is provided to the NHS through the Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 05 series - Firecode.The BS 8414 test methods were developed by the British Standards Institute in conjunction with the Building Research Establishment and they evaluate whether a cladding system subject to fire breaking out of an opening (such as a window) in an external wall, will result in excessive fire spread via the outside of the building and the potential for fire to re-enter at a higher level. The BS 8414 test and associated pass/fail guidance represents one route by which cladding systems may be judged as meeting the necessary standards in certain circumstances. However other means of demonstrating compliance with the required standard may be equally valid. Cladding systems used in the NHS should meet the requirements of the Building Regulations.Fifteen NHS buildings are currently understood to have High Pressure Laminate cladding and these are being reviewed to determine their specific situation.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Trade Unions

Chris Stephens: To ask the Attorney General, whether the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation affects the right of recognised unions in his Department to bargaining information as set out in Section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

Michael Ellis: This answer is in respect of the Attorney General’s Office, the Government Legal Department, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.The introduction of GDPR has not affected the rights of unions in the organisations above in relation to bargaining information provided under section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

Attorney General: Pay

Chris Stephens: To ask the Attorney General, whether his Department complies with the requirement set out in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code that time off with pay for safety representatives will not be set against facility time allowed under existing arrangements.

Michael Ellis: This part of the response is in relation to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), the Government Legal Department (GLD), and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI).The three organisations above, and Government more widely, recognise that there are significant benefits to both employers and employees when organisations and unions work together effectively to deliver high quality public services. Whilst facility time within the public sector must be accountable and represent value for money, departments have an obligation to provide reasonable paid time off to recognised trade union representatives to undertake trade union duties. This includes paid time off for safety representatives as set out in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code.In line with the legislative obligation, set out in the Trade Union Act (2016), information relating to facility time for relevant union officials is published annually by GLD, with facility time defined by that Act as including time off taken by a relevant union official that is permitted by the official’s employer, including where this arises under “regulations made under section 2(4) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.The Serious Fraud Office (whose HR service is independent of the other Law Officer’s Departments) Facility Time Agreement allows for paid time off for health and safety representatives but that time off is set against the overall level of facility time agreed between the employer and the 3 recognised trade unions.

Attorney General: Climate Change

Darren Jones: To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the effect of climate change on the work of his Department; and what steps he is taking in response to that effect.

Michael Ellis: The Attorney General’s Office (AGO), Government Legal Department (GLD), Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) are committed to tackling climate change and delivering our world-leading net zero target. Each department is located on separate premises and therefore their steps to climate responsibility differ.The AGO is located within a building shared with other tenants. The department engages with the landlord to support any opportunities to reduce greenhouse emissions. Emissions data is produced for the building and is not identifiable for each tenant. Information relating to the government vehicle is collated and reported by the Department for Transport. The AGO ensures that all travel is kept to a minimum.The CPS actively seeks to understand and mitigate its sustainability impacts associated with delivering its core organisational responsibilities. The CPS’ sustainability objectives include delivering on the Greening Government Commitments1 (GGC) for reducing energy, water, paper and other resource use, reducing travel and managing waste and assessing and managing social and environmental impacts and opportunities in policy development and decision making.The GLD has not made any specific assessment of the effect of climate change on the work of the Department. They provide legal advice in support of our clients’ considerations of climate change and the impact on their business, whilst we have made changes to our operations over time to reduce the consumption of natural resources, including the consumption, movement and storage of paper files, and travel‎.No formal assessment has been made on how climate change may impact the work of the SFO. However, the Serious Fraud Office is committed to playing its part in meeting the government’s ambitious targets to reduce emissions and deliver on the Greening Government Commitments.

Department for International Development

Iraq: Humanitarian Aid

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much and what proportion of UK funding for the Iraq Humanitarian Fund is allocated to projects in the Kurdistan Region; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The UK has committed approximately £94 million to the Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund since 2015. In 2018, the UK contributed £13 million to the Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund. That year, the Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund allocated $3.2 million to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq of a total of $36.6 million (including other donor funding). This equates to roughly 9% of Pooled Fund allocations to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.DFID has committed £261m in humanitarian support to Iraq since 2014, providing a vital lifeline to millions with shelter, medical care and clean water.

Yemen: Education

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to support education in Yemen.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Education, particularly standing up for the right of every girl in the world to have 12 years of quality education, is a priority for the UK. In Yemen we are supporting education through two global funds: Education Cannot Wait and the Global Partnership for Education.Since 2017, Education Cannot Wait has committed over £13 million to Yemen, providing 1.3 million children with safe learning spaces, supporting 1.2 million students in preparing for and taking national exams, and making incentive payments to teachers whose salaries had not been paid for prolonged periods. The Global Partnership for Education has provided over £28.5 million to support education in Yemen since 2013, benefitting more than 400,000 children through improved schooling and teacher training, in particular focusing on ensuring girls have better access to education.

Yemen: Dengue Fever

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps he is taking to help prevent cases of dengue fever in Yemen.

Dr Andrew Murrison: There were over 75,000 suspected cases of dengue fever in Yemen in 2019, following a sharp rise towards the end of last year.The UK is providing support to international NGOs and UN agencies to improve access to health care for vulnerable Yemenis which will be vital to tackling the outbreak.UK support includes a £96.5million commitment to UNICEF from 2018-2021 which has already provided 900,000 children with access to primary health care through health facilities, outreach services, and mobile health teams.

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that humanitarian agencies in Yemen are able to operate (a) independently and (b) according to the humanitarian principles.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to increase levels of humanitarian access in Yemen.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The UK is increasingly concerned by constraints on the international humanitarian response in Houthi-controlled areas of northern Yemen. In line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2451, we are calling on all parties to facilitate unhindered access for humanitarian actors and ensure that humanitarian workers are able to conduct their work safely and without harm.Alongside this, Ministers and Officials continue to engage closely with the UN and other donors to ensure a coordinated approach to improve humanitarian access, that does not jeopardise progress on the peace process.

Developing Countries: Educational Exchanges

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether he has plans to allocate funding for a programme to replace Connecting Classrooms through Global Learning when that programme ends in 2021.

Andrew Stephenson: Connecting Classrooms through Global Learning is a high performing programme that equips young people with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to live and work in a global economy and to take action on global issues. To date the programme has trained over 25,000 teachers and school leaders, and reached over 6,000 schools.Given the programme is less than halfway through implementation, DFID is focused on delivering current results. Future iterations of the programme will be considered alongside other priorities.

Bangladesh: Overseas Aid

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Official Development Assistance was allocated to Bangladesh in the last five years; what assessment he has made of the adequacy of ODA provided to that country; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Official Development Assistance he plans to allocate to Bangladesh in the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stephenson: In the last five years the UK has spent £832.5 million on the DFID programme in Bangladesh. This has contributed to significant development achievements. Since 2015 UK aid has helped 1.5 million children to gain a decent education and 900 thousand people to access clean water and better sanitation. It has also provided lifesaving humanitarian support to around 800,000 Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, particularly since the significant influx in August 2017.Official budgets for financial year 20/21, approved by Ministers, will be published in DFID’s 2019/20 Annual Accounts and Report later this year.

Palestinians: Schools

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the Answer of 8 July 2019 to Question 272116, if he will place a copy in the Library of the inception report which formed the basis of the independent review of Palestinian Authority textbooks.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The UK commissioned the Georg Eckert Institute to produce an inception report. I can confirm that we will place a copy of this inception report in the Library and I will write to the Right Honourable member once this has been done.

Overseas Aid: Audit

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when his Department last undertook an assessment of the adequacy of the audit arrangements for recipients of (a) Official Development Assistance and (b) grants issued by his Department.

Andrew Stephenson: DFID commissions all of its programming activities to be compliant with the best practice programme delivery framework – the Smart Rules. All programmes must be compliant with the Smart Rules which are designed to accord with the public financial management legislation for grants and, where applicable, with EU procurement regulations for private sector contracts.Before DFID authorises any payments to awarded grants and/or contracts, due diligence assessments or competitive tendering procedures are undertaken to assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of the potential recipient organisation. This will include assessing governance procedures and the recipient’s own capabilities of oversight and audit of sub-partners. We also test a range of additional qualitative standards such as their capabilities in financial management, programme management, environmental/social responsibility, safeguarding and ethical trading.

Developing Countries: Fossil Fuels

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2020 to Question 5384 on Developing Countries: Fossil Fuels, how much the UK has allocated from the public purse in Official Development Assistance to projects for mining, transporting or generating electricity from oil and gas combined in each of the last five years.

Andrew Stephenson: UK direct bilateral ODA classified as being for oil and gas extraction amounts to £102,000 in the last five years for which data is available (2014-2018). This includes £96,000 in 2016 and £6,000 in 2018. There is no UK direct bilateral ODA classified as being for transport or generating electricity from oil and gas during this time.CDC, the UK’s development financial institution, has made investments in oil and gas in the past five years. CDC publishes details on its investments but does not report these by fuel type. When CDC does invest in fossil fuels, it does so with an aim of increasing plant efficiencies, reducing emissions and as part of a transition plan. DFID does provide support to developing countries on energy, but specifically to think about how to use their resources and transition to cleaner, greener fuels.

Developing Countries: Environment

Chris Grayling: What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding provided by his Department for environmental projects in the developing world.

Andrew Stephenson: Tackling climate change and environmental degradation are key priorities for DFID and this Government. At UNCAS in September, the PM announced a new £220m International Biodiversity Fund and that the UK will double our international climate finance to £11.6bn between 2021-2025, helping developing countries to take action in these areas.

Human Rights

Afzal Khan: What steps his Department is taking with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to uphold human rights throughout the world.

Andrew Stephenson: The UK is committed to respecting, promoting and protecting universal human rights. Human rights are inseparable from development and DFID works closely with the FCO to support its lead on human rights. DFID also works alongside the FCO to promote human rights, which is a core part of DFID’s aid and development strategy.

Department for Education

Sheffield University

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to take steps in response to proposals by Sheffield university to pay some students to monitor and report on statements made by other students which might be regarded as micro-aggressions; what progress he has made on bringing forward proposals to safeguard free speech in colleges and universities; and if he will draw the lessons of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four to the attention of college and university staff during this 70th anniversary year of the author’s death.

Chris Skidmore: This government will ensure that our universities are places where free speech can thrive and work to strengthen academic freedoms. The freedom to express views openly, challenge ideas and engage in robust debate is crucial to the student experience and to democracy. Lawful freedom of speech and the right to discuss all kinds of issues is an integral part of our higher education system. Under the Education (No 2) Act (1986), higher education providers have a specific duty to take reasonably practicable steps to secure freedom of speech within the law for staff, students and visiting speakers. Higher education providers also have clear responsibilities under the Equality Act (2010). Higher education providers should discharge their responsibilities fully and have robust policies and procedures in place to comply with the law and to investigate and address incidents reported to them. Universities, as autonomous bodies regulated by the Office for Students, should ensure that they are balancing their legal duties carefully and proportionately. The government worked with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, who published clear guidance in February 2019 on freedom of speech in higher education to support higher education providers and students’ unions in delivering their duties. The government will be looking closely at how well higher education providers are meeting their obligations and will consider whether further action is needed, working with a range of partners.

Schools: Sports

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the School sport and activity action plan, when the pilot areas for schools to work with sport providers and local organisations to put in place a coordinated offer of sport, competition and activity in and outside school will be selected.

Nick Gibb: In the school sport and activity action plan, published in July 2019, the Government announced its intention to set up regional pilots to trial new and innovative approaches to drive up activity levels, and particularly focus on engaging the least active pupils.The Department is working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Sport England to design the pilots, drawing on information from schools and sport and physical activity providers. The Department will confirm the nature and process for the pilots later in the year, taking into account how they can fit with other initiatives that aim to increase access to activities for pupils.

Schools: Easington

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding in real terms has been allocated to schools in Easington constituency in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: Funding for schools is given to local authorities through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), which in turn distribute this money to schools in their area through their own local formulae. The following table outlines the schools block DSG allocations for Durham County Council since 2015-16 in cash terms. Prior to the introduction of the National Funding Formula (NFF), schools block allocations were only calculated at local authority level. Schools block DSG allocations for Durham Funding per pupil (£)1Total schools block (£)2015-16£4,641£287.1 million2016-17£4,649£288.8 million2017-18£4,674£293.0 million2018-19£4,694£298.6 million2019-20£4,758£306.1 million2020-21£4,937£319.5 millionSince 2018-19, schools block allocations have been calculated through the NFF, based on individual schools’ characteristics. The following table outlines in cash terms notional NFF allocations for schools in Easington in 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21.  NFF allocations for Easington Funding per pupil (£)Total cash funding (£)NFF 2018-192£4,817£51.6 millionNFF 2019-202£4,862£52.8 millionNFF 2020-212£5,012£54.7 million To smooth the transition to the NFF, local authorities have continued to be responsible for designing the distribution of funding in their areas in 2018-19 through to 2020-21. The actual amount that schools receive may be different from the amount they are attracting through the NFF. Local authorities set their local formula in consultation with local schools. The Department will now move to a single national formula as soon as possible to complete our reforms to make the funding system fair and equitable for every school in the country. 1 The schools block unit of funding has been calculated by dividing the local authority’s total schools block allocation.2 Notional NFF allocations for individual schools were calculated based on available pupil data at the time, which was pupil data from the previous year. Final allocations given to local authorities were calculated based on updated pupil data. The figures in these tables are therefore not directly comparable.

Children: Protection

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the timetable is for the release of the analysis of serious case reviews from 2015 to 2018.

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the timetable is for the publication of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel First National Review.

Michelle Donelan: The independent Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s first national review focuses on what can be done to protect children who are threatened and exploited by criminal gangs. The date for publication is being determined, as is that for the triennial analysis of serious case reviews, 2014 to 2017. We expect that both documents will be published in the coming weeks.

Universities: Equality

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to ensure that universities use universally accessible (a) student surveys and (b) data collection processes to monitor university compliance with equality charters; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Skidmore: Higher education providers (HEPs) are independent and autonomous institutions. While we recognise the work of Advance HE and the value that both the Race Equality and Athena Swan charters bring to the sector the government does not compel HEPs to participate in equality charters. However, progress on addressing both gender and racial equality in HE has been unacceptably slow, particularly for minority ethnic staff securing senior university leadership positions. It is essential that HEPs urgently address those institutional and cultural barriers standing in the way of women and minority ethnic staff and students so that everyone who has the potential to thrive at university, does so. The government has brought forward sweeping reforms of higher education to tackle equality of opportunity through the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 (HERA). This includes a mandatory condition of registration which, for the first time, requires all higher education providers registered with the Office for Students (OfS) to publish data including the number of applications for admissions, offers made and acceptance rates broken down by gender, ethnicity and socio-economic background. The OfS has issued guidance to higher education providers on how to comply with the transparency condition.The OfS has also made available online an interactive dashboard of data, which will help to evaluate access and participation at specific universities and colleges. The dashboard can be used to compare different student groups (for example, disabled students or students by their ethnic background) and their peers, and reveal gaps in access, continuation, success and progression. More information is available at the link:https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/data-and-analysis/access-and-participation-data-dashboard/guide-to-the-access-and-participation-data-resources.

Music: Education

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that music education is accessible for children from low-income families.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to improve the provision of music education in schools.

Nick Gibb: The Department wants all pupils to have a high-quality music education.The Department is proud of and will be refreshing its National Plan for Music Education, which sets an ambitious vision for music education for every child, regardless of their background. The subject is compulsory in the national curriculum and the Department is providing funding of over £300 million for Music Education Hubs between 2016 and 2020. In January we announced a further £80 million investment in Hubs for 2020-21. Music Education Hubs support schools to drive up the quality and consistency of music education and our national funding formula for Hubs, based on local pupil numbers, means extra weighting for pupils in receipt of free school meals. The Hubs work to ensure there is more equitable access to music education. We also provide £500,000 per year to In Harmony, a national music programme that aims to inspire and transform the lives of children in deprived communities through ensemble music-making.The Department is supporting exceptionally talented young musicians from low-income families to fulfil their potential through the £30 million per annum Music and Dance Scheme. The scheme helps ensure that all children and young people with exceptional ability can benefit from world-class, specialist training, regardless of their personal circumstances.

Apprentices: Pre-school Education

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has plans to create an apprenticeship standard for Early Years professionals.

Michelle Donelan: Apprenticeship standards are developed by trailblazer groups of employers supported by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.A level 3 early years apprenticeship standard was published for delivery in April 2019.Trailblazer groups are currently developing new apprenticeship standards at levels 2, 5 and 6. Further apprenticeships information is available at: https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/.

Ministry of Justice

Magistrates: Disciplinary Proceedings

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Lay Magistrates have been subject to disciplinary action in each of the last 10 years; and what the (a) reason and (b) outcome was of that action.

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Deputy District Judges have been subject to disciplinary action in each of the last 10 years; and what the (a) reason and (b) outcome was of that action.

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many District Judges have been subject to disciplinary action in each of the last 10 years; and what the (a) reason and (b) outcome was of that action.

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Recorders have been subject to disciplinary action in each of the last 10 years; and what the (a) reason and (b) outcome was of that action.

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Circuit Judges have been subject to disciplinary action in each of the last 10 years; and what the (a) reason and (b) outcome was of that action.

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many High Court Judges have been subject to disciplinary action in each of the last 10 years; and what the (a) reason and (b) outcome was of that action.

Chris Philp: The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) publishes statements, on behalf of the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice, about judicial disciplinary cases which have resulted in a sanction on its website at: https://judicialconduct.judiciary.gov.uk/disciplinary-statements/2020/Additionally, for 2013/14-2018/19, data about judicial office holders subject to disciplinary sanction is available in the JCIO’s annual reports at: https://judicialconduct.judiciary.gov.uk/reports-publications/The annual reports of the JCIO and its predecessor, the Office for Judicial Complaints, covering the years 2006/7-2018/19 are available in the Library of the House. Data on disciplinary action in the reports is broken down by the following types of judicial office holders - the courts judiciary, tribunals judiciary, coroners and magistrates, and sanctions imposed.The publicly available information does not break the data down by office (Lay Magistrates, Deputy District Judges etc), but the action needed to obtain this information would give rise to a disproportionate cost.

Prison Sentences

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of abolishing prison sentences of six months and less.

Chris Philp: We are clear that sentencing must match the severity of the crime, and public protection is our priority. Custody should only be used as a last resort and community sentences will continue to be an important part of punishing and rehabilitating offenders. In the Queen’s speech in December, the Government announced plans to introduce new sentencing laws. Ahead of any legislation, we intend to canvass proposals in a White Paper. This will contain proposals for community penalties that offer an appropriate level of punishment, while tackling the underlying drivers of re-offending.

Prison Sentences

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of prison sentences of six months on reducing rates of reoffending.

Chris Philp: We are clear that sentencing must match the severity of a crime, and public protection is our priority.The latest proven reoffending rate for adult offenders released from sentences of six months or less in the quarter July to September 2017 was almost two thirds (64.8%).If we are to break the cycle of reoffending, solutions will often lie in community sentences, including those which address offenders’ behaviour, answer their mental health and alcohol or drug misuse needs, or provide reparation for the benefit of the wider community. However, sentencers should continue to have the option of imposing a short custodial sentence, where appropriate.In the Queen’s speech in December, the Government announced plans to introduce new sentencing laws. Ahead of any legislation, we intend to canvass proposals in a White Paper. This will contain proposals for community penalties that offer an appropriate level of punishment, while tackling the underlying drivers of re-offending.

Prison Sentences: Females

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of women serving custodial sentences are serving a sentence of six months or less.

Lucy Frazer: As at 30 September 2019 (latest available data), 11% of the total female sentenced population were serving sentences of 6 months or less. Further information is available in Table 1.1 of the document “Prison population: 30 September 2019” at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2019.

Prisoners: Suicide

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) men and (b) women serving custodial sentences died by suicide during their sentence in each month in 2019.

Lucy Frazer: The numbers of self-inflicted deaths of prisoners between January and September 2019 (the most recent month for which figures are available) are shown in the attached table. Every death in custody is a tragedy, and we are committed to learning lessons from these deaths wherever possible. The Government is investing £2.75 billion to transform the prison estate and bolster security - introducing X-ray body scanners and enhanced gate security - and taking unprecedented action to improve safety in custody. We have recruited over 4,400 more prison officers since October 2016, and we now have the greatest number in post since early 2012. This is allowing us to implement the key worker role, providing staff dedicated time to support individual prisoners. We are improving support for prisoners in their early days in custody and developing a new version of the multi-disciplinary ACCT case management process for those at risk of suicide. We have rolled out a revised and improved Suicide and Self-Harm Prevention course. This is being completed by all new staff and as refresher training by all existing staff. Nearly 25,000 staff have already begun this training and over 14,000 have completed all six modules.



Table 
(Excel SpreadSheet, 9.64 KB)

Prisons: Mental Health Services

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of mental healthcare provision in UK prisons.

Lucy Frazer: Health services in prisons are commissioned by NHS England and Improvement (NHSE/I) who are responsible for making assessments of the current provision of mental health services in the prison system in England. In Wales, health is devolved to the Welsh Government where separate arrangements are made. We take mental health provision very seriously and are committed to working closely with health partners to ensure that offenders are able to access the treatment and support required for their mental health needs. The health and justice partners include: Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHSE/I, and Public Health England (PHE). In prisons, this relationship has been formally set out in the National Partnership Agreement for Prison Healthcare in England, which has been in place since April 2018. Its associated workplan sets out a detailed programme of work, agreed by health and justice partners, to deliver safe, decent, effective healthcare for offenders. We recognise the importance of the prison environment for enabling better health outcomes. For example, we have worked to refresh safety training packages, with staff receiving training in key areas such as mental health and substance misuse. Over 25,000 new and existing prison staff (including those who work for other bodies) have now completed at least one module of the revised suicide and self-harm prevention training; 14,000 staff have received all six modules. We continue to work with our partners to improve mental healthcare in prisons.

Police Cautions

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that people offered a caution in a police station understand the implications of accepting one in respect of future Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

Chris Philp: Ministry of Justice guidance sets out clear expectations in terms of police explaining the implications of accepting a caution. Ministry of Justice guidance on Simple Cautions for Adult Offenders can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/simple-cautions-guidance-for-police-and-prosecutorsSection 3 of the guidance states police officers must ensure the offender understands the implications of accepting a simple caution, and consents to receiving the disposal before it can be administered. The implications which must be explained are set out in paragraphs 62-76 of the guidance. This includes the significance of the admission of guilt and the retention and disclosure of criminal record information for future legal proceedings or criminal record checks. Guidance also states police officers should ensure offenders are given the opportunity to receive free and independent legal advice before accepting a simple caution. Similar points are made in the Ministry of Justice Guidance for Conditional Cautions for Adult Offenders (also in Section 3 of the guidance) which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-for-adult-conditional-cautions In addition, the Ministry of Justice and Youth Justice Board published guidance on Youth Out of Court Disposals, which includes relevant guidance in Section 5.22-23 and can be found at:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/438139/out-court-disposal-guide.pdf

Prisons: Drugs

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of inmates developing drug problems.

Lucy Frazer: Initiatives including Offender Management in custody are developing and supporting rehabilitative cultures in prison, so that individuals will be supported and, if necessary referred to substance misuse services, including if their circumstances change whilst in custody. Last year we published The National Prison Drug Strategy which has three strands: restricting supply, reducing demand and ensuring prisoners are encouraged to engage in meaningful activity and treatment interventions. Illicit substances pose huge challenges in our prisons which is why we are investing £100million in airport-style security - including x-ray body scanners - to stop them getting in. This is part of our £2.75billion investment to make jails safer for offenders and staff, while working closely with healthcare providers to ensure prisoners have the support they need to live drug-free upon release. Consequently, ensuring that the prison environment provides opportunities to engage in purposeful activity and commit to positive change is key to providing hope for the future and encouraging prisoners to turn away from drugs

Prisons: Drugs

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve security standards in prisons to prevent the smuggling of illicit substances for inmates.

Lucy Frazer: We are taking decisive action to improve security to: stop illicit items being smuggled in by prisoners, staff and visitors; to strengthen staff resilience to corruption; and to target organised criminals and staff who exploit prisons as a lucrative illicit market. This package of measures is being funded through the £100m investment to tackle crime from behind bars announced by the Prime Minister last summer. Enhanced gate security will be deployed to the most challenging prisons in the estate. Cutting-edge x-ray body scanners will target prisoners smuggling illicit items into prisons. We recently announced the first 16 sites to receive this equipment and further installations will follow this year. Whilst the vast majority of our staff are honest and hardworking, we are also investing new resource to step up our counter corruption capability and strengthen (in scale and reach) intelligence-led operations and investigations with law enforcement partners against those that present the greatest threat of harm to prison security and the community. We will also equip sites with new technology and staff to enhance staff and visitor searching at the gate. We have already announced the first 7 sites for this provision.

Prisoners: Self-harm and Suicide

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce rates of (a) self-harming and (b) suicide in prisons; and if he will make a statement.

Lucy Frazer: Far too many prisoners are self-harming or taking their own life and we know that relationships between staff and prisoners plays an important role in tackling this. We have therefore invested in the recruitment of over 4,500 more prison officers since 2016, an increase which has helped us to roll out the key worker scheme. Key workers provide a consistent individual prison officer with whom prisoners can establish a relationship, build trust and receive encouragement.We have delivered improved Introduction to Self-Harm and Suicide training to over 25,000 new and existing staff, and we are investing an extra £2.75 billion to modernise prisons, combat drug use and improve the environment in which offenders live.We are continuing our partnership with the Samaritans, awarding a grant of £500k each year for the three years to 2021. This supports the excellent Listeners scheme, through which selected prisoners are trained to provide emotional support to their fellow prisoners.Finally, we have also sought to revise and update the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) care planning process designed to manage prisoners at risk of self-harm. Changes to ACCT were piloted between February and June 2019 and, following a full evaluation of the pilot, a revised version will be rolled out across the estate later in the year.

Treasury

Carbon Emissions and Renewable Energy: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to (a) take fiscal steps to reduce carbon emissions and (b) expand public funding for renewable energy.

Mr Simon Clarke: HM Treasury takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously. As you would expect, we are considering what further fiscal and other policy measures are needed to meet our 2050 net zero target. We have already committed £2.5bn to support low carbon innovation from 2015-2021, and £1bn on supporting the take-up of ultra-low emission vehicles. Furthermore, we are forecast to spend over £10bn p/a of support for low carbon and renewable power funded by consumer levies by 2020/21 HM Treasury’s Net Zero Review is looking into how the transition to a net zero economy will be funded, and where the costs will fall. The review will publish its findings in Autumn 2020.

Manufacturing Industries: North East

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of trends in manufacturing output in the North East.

Mr Simon Clarke: Manufacturing is a key sector of the North East economy representing 14.7% of its total output and over £8bn in Gross Value Added in 2018. The North East is an important part of our Northern Powerhouse, which our manifesto commits to fully support. Since 2015, Local Enterprise Partnerships in the North East have received over £500m from the Local Growth Fund to be spent on local economic priorities. The North East will benefit from Transforming Cities Fund helping passengers, commuters & motorists.

Employment: Taxation

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the forthcoming changes to IR35 legislation on the willingness of large companies to employ self-employed contractors.

Jesse Norman: The Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) published in July 2019 set out HMRC's assessment that extending the reform to large and medium sized organisations in public and third sectors is not expected to have any significant macro-economic impacts. The TIIN can be found here: https://bit.ly/2YTbOaA. In addition, independent research conducted by IFF Research and Frontier Economics, following the implementation of the off-payroll reform in the public sector in 2017, showed that the reform had not resulted in significant disruption to the sector, or to its use of contingent labour. The Government announced a review of changes to off-payroll working rules on 7 January 2020 to determine if any further steps can be taken to ensure the smooth and successful implementation of the reform due to come into force in April 2020. The review will also consider whether any additional support for businesses is needed to ensure that the self-employed, who are not in scope of the rules, are not affected. The review will conclude in mid-February 2020.

Financial Services: EU Law

Jonathan Reynolds: What plans the Government has to comply with provisions of the Markets in Financial Institutions Directive on broker dealers after the UK leaves the EU.

John Glen: We will leave the EU on 31 January with the same regulatory rulebook, including Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) II regulations on broker dealers, as the EU27. We have brought MiFID II regulations into UK law. Firms will be expected to comply with these UK regulations after the Implementation Period. The UK is committed to building a strong and mutually beneficial future relationship on Financial Services with the EU after we leave.

Child Benefit: Decreases

Marco Longhi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the equity of child benefit payment reductions in relation to (a) an individual earning more than £50,000 and (b) a couple with a combined income of nearly £100,000 where each individual earns less than £50,000.

Jesse Norman: The Government introduced the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) from January 2013 to ensure that support is targeted at those who need it most. It applies to anyone with an individual income over £50,000, who claims Child Benefit or whose partner claims it, regardless of the make-up of their household.  Basing HICBC on household incomes would mean finding out the incomes of everyone in each of the eight million households eligible for child benefit. This would effectively introduce a new means test.

Business: VAT

Sarah Olney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on businesses of ending the MOSS system on 1 February 2020.

Jesse Norman: The UK will leave the EU on 31 January 2020 and enter the Implementation Period ending in December 2020. UK VAT rules will remain aligned to the EU during this period and businesses will continue to have access to the VAT MOSS system. Businesses can then choose to register for the non-Union scheme in any EU country and continue to use MOSS. Businesses will be able to use the UK MOSS system after the Implementation Period to declare VAT on digital sales made during the Implementation Period.

Digital Technology: VAT

Sarah Olney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of businesses that make digital sales in the EU that will be required to register for VAT in multiple EU countries after the MOSS system is ended on 1 February 2020.

Jesse Norman: There are approximately 2,000 UK businesses registered for the VAT MOSS system. Businesses will be able to continue to use the system for sales made during the Implementation Period. Businesses can then choose to register for the non-Union scheme in any EU country and continue to use VAT MOSS. They will not have to register in each EU country unless they choose to do so.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which documents regulate the relationship between his Department and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department receives an analysis and evaluation of all the projects that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development invests in.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what role his Department played in supporting the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s decision to invest in the Amulsar gold mine in Armenia.

John Glen: The relationship between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Her Majesty’s Government is regulated through the Agreement Establishing the EBRD, which entered into force on 28 March 1991. This document can be found here: https://www.ebrd.com/news/publications/institutional-documents/basic-documents-of-the-ebrd.html The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the UK Governor for the EBRD. All prospective projects are reviewed and scrutinised by the EBRD in line with the Bank’s standard project process, and this analysis is provided to shareholders ahead of Board of Directors discussion and approval. The UK assesses all projects to ensure that they meet the EBRD’s mandate and have the highest environmental and social standards. EBRD’s most recent assessment is that the project has the highest categorisation under the Bank’s Environmental and Social Policy.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Trade Unions

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation affects the right of recognised unions in his Department to bargaining information as set out in Section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

Jake Berry: Government Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has not affected the rights of unions in the Department to bargaining information provided under section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

Buildings: Insulation

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his oral statement of 20 January 2020, Official Report, column 24, on Building Safety, whether his Department has made an assessment of the number of buildings in England that have Aluminium Composite Material cladding.

Esther McVey: The Department holds information on the number of high-rise (over 18 metres) residential and publicly owned buildings in England with Aluminium Composite Material cladding systems. This information is published in the monthly building safety programme data release here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-programme-monthly-data-release-december-2019 .

Buildings: Insulation

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a material assessment service coupled with test houses to provide feedback on cladding system materials for local authorities and building owners.

Esther McVey: Following the Grenfell fire, the government set up a screening programme to assist building owners with the identification of the type of ACM present on their buildings. The screening is still open and remains free to building owners.We expect building owners who suspect they have ACM (or other metal composite material cladding) with an unmodified polyethylene filler to submit samples for testing. Further information on the testing program is available at : https://www.gov.uk/guidance/aluminium-composite-material-cladding

Buildings: Insulation

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his oral contribution of 20 January 2020, Official Report columns 24-36, what steps he plans to take to ensure ACM cladding is removed from all buildings.

Esther McVey: The Government is committed to bringing about the biggest change to building safety in a generationFor high-rise buildings with unsafe ACM cladding, inaction will have consequences. From next month, those responsible for buildings will be named where remediation has not started, and only be removed from the public list when it has. The Department will also be working with the relevant local authorities to support enforcement where necessary.Updated advice on the measures building owners should take to ensure building safety has now been published. This can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-advice-for-building-owners-including-fire-doors. Building owners and developers who have not already taken action must do so as soon as possible

Buildings: Safety

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his oral contribution of 20 January 2020, Official Report columns 24-36, what the names of the experts are that his Department is commissioning to develop the matrix of risk that will underpin his Department's approach to future regulatory regimes.

Esther McVey: We are working closely with the Protection board and the Independent Expert Advisory Panel on this work. The Department has recently published a call for evidence asking for information on how to prioritise risk in existing buildings. Following from the call for evidence we will commission a comprehensive research program in March. The specification for this work will be published in accordance with standard procurement procedures.

Buildings: Insulation

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his oral contribution of 20 January 2020, Official Report columns 24-36, for what reasons the 10 buildings with ACM cladding referred to in that contribution have been unable to apply for his Department's remediation fund.

Esther McVey: Of the 10 buildings that have not yet submitted an application, these had either completed remediation already, had exceptional circumstances, or had only recently been identified. These applicants will continue to be supported and encouraged by MHCLG’s delivery partners to submit full applications as soon as possible.

Buildings: Insulation

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his oral contribution of 20 January 2020, Official Report columns 24-36, whether his Department's consultation on reducing the height at which the combustible ban applies from 18 metres to 11 metres is proposed to apply to (a) existing and (b) new buildings.

Esther McVey: Following consultation if the scope of the ban is changed in line with the proposals in the consultation, the ban would continue to apply only to new buildings, those undergoing a material change of use, and other building work as defined in the Building Regulations.   The ban does not apply to existing buildings where no work is being carried out. In these instances, we consider that a case by case risk-based approach to fire safety is most appropriate, in line with the advice already issued by MHCLG and the Independent Expert Panel, and as proposed by Dame Judith Hackitt in her independent review.

Buildings: Materials

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his oral contribution of 20 January 2020, Official Report columns 24-36, if he will extend his Department's building materials audit of buildings of 18 metres to include all buildings over 11 metres in height.

Esther McVey: Data collection on external wall systems for residential buildings 18 metres or over in height is being undertaken because it is important to gain accurate information on these higher risk buildings first. We will consider further collections in due course.

Buildings: Materials

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department (a) is undertaking and (b) plans to undertake on the toxicity of gases produced by the burning of (i) ACM cladding, (ii) high pressure laminate cladding and (iii) other building materials.

Esther McVey: On 29 November 2018 the Government introduced a ban of combustible materials in the external wall of buildings including blocks of flat, student accommodation and care homes more than 18 metres in height. The ban requires that all materials which become part of an external wall or specified attachment achieve European Class A2-s1, d0 or Class A1, other than those covered by exemptions. This means that materials are classified by smoke production as well as combustibility and production of droplets. These classifications impose the maximum possible restriction on smoke production.In addition, the Government published, on 18 December, a call for evidence to form the basis for a technical review of Approved Document B (Fire Safety). Paragraphs 38 to 41 address the issue of smoke and toxicity. The call for evidence closed on 1 March 2019, the Department published in September 2019 an analysis of the responses to the call for evidence which is available athttps://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/technical-review-of-approved-document-b-of-the-building-regulations-a-call-for-evidenceThe Secretary of State announced in his letter to the house on 20 January 2020 that he will set out detailed plans for the full technical review of fire safety guidance in February, including a review of smoke and toxicity.

Non-domestic Rates

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Local Government Association Business Rates Avoidance Survey Report 2019, published on 1 January 2020, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the finding of that report that £250 million is lost to business rates each year; and what steps he plans to take to protect revenue from business rates for local authorities.

Luke Hall: My Department welcomes the Local Government Association’s Business Rates Avoidance Survey, published in January 2020, and will work with the Local Government Association to evaluate its findings and better understand the causes of business rates avoidance.

Mayors: Finance

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been devolved to each (a) metro mayor and (b) metro mayor region in each of the last four financial years.

Jake Berry: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of buildings that have had combustible cladding removed have not had replacement cladding installed.

Esther McVey: Information on the number of high-rise residential buildings with ACM cladding that require remediation that have had the ACM cladding removed is available in the monthly building safety programme data release here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-programme-monthly-data-release-december-2019 . Information is not held on those buildings that have had replacement cladding installed but have not yet completed remediation, including receiving building control sign-off where necessary.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2020 to Question 5436 on High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention, if his Department will request that the owner of the Cube building in Bolton publishes the referenced review documents.

Esther McVey: We have been clear that building owners are responsible for ensuring the safety of their buildings and for taking action to address safety issues when they are identified.

Ministry of Defence

Kurds: Military Aid

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Peshmerga soldiers were mentored by the UK in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: In conjunction with Coalition partners, the UK has delivered training to 2,273 members of Kurdish security forces in 2019, as part of our long-term commitment to the defeat of Daesh.

Corruption

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has undertaken a review of the anti-bribery policies of his Department's (a) non-departmental public bodies and (b) subsidiary companies in the last 12 months; and what anti-bribery training his Department has provided to those bodies.

James Heappey: The Department has not undertaken a review of the anti-bribery policies of its non-departmental public bodies and subsidiary companies in the last 12 months. The Department provides policy and guidance, and functional and professional advice, which the public bodies and subsidiary companies implement.

HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the cost of (a) HMS Queen Elizabeth and (b) HMS Price of Wales.

James Heappey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question 7177 from the hon. Member for Llanelli (Nia Griffith) on 28 January 2020.



HMS Queen Elizabeth
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Department for Work and Pensions

Department for Work and Pensions: Pay

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the increase in the National Living wage announced by the Government on 31 December 2019, what discussions she is having with private sector companies undertaking facility management work for her Department to ensure that the cost of wage increases for their employees are not passed on to her Department.

Mims Davies: The DWP FM contract includes provision to discuss living wage increases, however the Department has not yet entered into discussions with its FM Supplier about the National Living Wage increases announced in December 2019. We are anticipating the conversation for 19/20 costs to take place in April 2020.

Universal Credit: Linlithgow and East Falkirk

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many offline universal credit applications were made by constituents of Linlithgow and East Falkirk between January and December 2019.

Will Quince: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. Universal Credit is designed to be a ‘digital-first’ service, ensuring we make best use of technology to deliver a modern and effective working-age welfare system, allowing our staff to concentrate on those people who require additional support. Although the Department offers comprehensive support for claimants to use our digital service, there will be occasions when people are unable to make their claim online, so telephone applications can be accepted. In these instances, information normally available through a claimant’s online account will be communicated in an alternative format, which is best suited to an individual’s circumstances.

Children: Poverty

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many children in poverty lived in working households in each of the last five years.

Will Quince: National statistics of the number of children in low income households are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication. Statistics for the number of children in working households in absolute low income, in each of the last five years, are available by combining tables 4.21ts and 4.2ts in the file “children-hbai-timeseries-1994-95-2017-18-tables” available in the link below. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/789816/hbai-2017-2018-tables-ods-files.zip Statistics for the number of children in working households in relative low income, in each of the last five years, are available by combining tables 4.15ts and 4.2ts in the same file.

Personal Independence Payment

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) Gloucester constituency and (b) the UK (i) applied for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) (ii) had their Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claim rejected and (ii) successfully contended a rejected Personal Independence payment (PIP) claim at appeal in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Justin Tomlinson: The table below provides the information requested for initial decisions following a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment for the Gloucester Parliamentary constituency and Great Britain in 2018-19: Initial decisions in 2018-19GloucesterGreat BritainPIP initial decisions following a PIP assessment1,320630,260Of which, disallowed430222,930   Of those disallowed at initial decision  Award changed at Mandatory Reconsideration (MR)4015,940Award unchanged at MR and decision overturned at a tribunal hearing2014,510Award unchanged at MR and appeal lapsed106,140 Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Claimants who have received benefit decisions more recently may not yet have had time to complete the claimant journey and progress to appeal. A lapsed appeal is where DWP changed the decision in the customer’s favour after an appeal was lodged but before it was heard at tribunal. The Northern Irish Assembly has devolved responsibility for social security benefits. The responsibility for statistics in Northern Ireland lies with the Department for Communities:https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/articles/personal-independence-payment-statistics

Career Development: Females

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support upward mobility for women in low wage jobs.

Mims Davies: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Jobcentres: Birkenhead

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions she has had with Birkenhead job centre about the potential loss of staff jobs.

Mims Davies: There are no job losses or work movements planned at Birkenhead Jobcentre. Therefore, no discussions have taken place.

Jobcentres: Birkenhead

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons jobs are being transferred from Birkenhead job centre to Blackpool and Cardiff.

Mims Davies: There are no job losses or transfers planned at Birkenhead Jobcentre. Whilst there have been some recruitment exercises in Cardiff and Blackpool, these are not linked to Birkenhead and no jobs are being transferred from Birkenhead Jobcentre to any other locations.

Department for Exiting the European Union

EU Defence Policy

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps his Department plans to take to support UK companies contracted by the EU for work in relation to the Common Security and Defence Policy during the transition period of the UK leaving the EU.

James Duddridge: DExEU has organised over 700 recorded engagements with business and civil society stakeholders from every sector of the British economy since July 2016 and to date DExEU Ministers have attended over 120 roundtable meetings on a wide range of topics. The Department continues to engage with businesses as we approach exit day on 31 January.Additionally, the UK will continue to participate in programmes funded under the current 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) until their closure. This means that the vast majority of programmes will continue to receive EU funding across the programme’s lifetime. In many cases, funding will continue until after 2020 and the end of the Implementation Period.Government will continue to hold regular forums with intermediaries, trade associations and business organisations to support them through the transition period.

Home Office

Former Prime Ministers: Security

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department,  what the cost was of providing police and other security protection for former prime ministers in each of the last five years.

Kit Malthouse: It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on the security arrangements for protected individuals. To do so could compromise the integrity of those arrangements and affect the security of the individuals concerned.

Visas: Entertainers

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what visa regime will apply to performers who are EEA nationals travelling to the UK on short working trips after the UK leaves the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Kevin Foster: The Government has announced at the end of the transition period, EEA and Swiss nationals will be able to continue to travel to the UK for holidays or short-term trips, without needing a visa.The current Immigration Rules, including those for visitors, contain a wide range of provisions to cater for artists, entertainers and musicians.The Home Office is currently engaging with the creative sector and other government departments, including DCMS, to ensure the future immigration system continues to support the thriving cultural sector in the UK.

Counter-terrorism

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to appoint a new Independent Reviewer of Prevent.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has been made on ensuring that the job of the independent Reviewer of Prevent is publicly advertised; and (a) where and (b) when that advertisement will be published.

Brandon Lewis: The Prevent review will go ahead and we are currently considering the next steps. We will make further announcements about its progress, including appointing a new reviewer, as soon as possible.

European Council of Imams: Muslim Brotherhood

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential connection between the European Council of Imams, launched in Paris in November 2019 and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Brandon Lewis: The Government’s review of the Muslim Brotherhood, completed in December 2015 and published on gov.uk, concluded the movement is a secretive organisation and that parts of it – globally – have a highly ambiguous relationship with violent extremism. The Government keeps under review the views promoted and activities undertaken by the Muslim Brotherhood’s associates in the UK in accordance with the five commitments included in the former Prime Minister’s statement to Parliament.The Government continues to stand by the judgments of the review, and we will continue to consider any new evidence on the Muslim Brotherhood’s activities against the UK’s legal thresholds.

Asylum and Visas: Applications

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for (a) visas and (b) asylum took (i) three to six months, (ii) six to 12 months, (iii) 12 to 24 months and (iv) over 24 months to be completed in each of the last four financial years.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for (a) visas and (b) asylum from individuals resident in Worsley and Eccles South constituency took (i) three to six months, (ii) six to 12 months, (iii) 12 to 24 months and (iv) over 24 months to be completed in each of the last four financial years.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office does not publish data on how many applications for (a) visas and (b) asylum took (i) three to six months, (ii) six to 12 months, (iii) 12 to 24 months and (iv) over 24 months in each of the last four financial years.However, the Home Office does publish data on:the percentage of visa applications processed within published service standards, at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data. Information on UKVI’s service standards is available at: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration/about-our-services#service-standards. In cases where we are unable to meet these service standards, we write to inform the customer.the percentage of asylum applications processed within 6 months. This data can be found at Asy_10 of the published Asylum Transparency Data August 2019: www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-transparency-data-august-2019.The Home Office does not publish data on how many applications for (a) visas and (b) asylum from individuals resident in Worsley and Eccles South constituency took (i) three to six months, (ii) six to 12 months, (iii) 12 to 24 months and (iv) over 24 months in each of the last four financial years as this information is not held centrally and to obtain it would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.

Agriculture: Seasonal Workers

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many inspections the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority has undertaken on farms employing workers under the seasonal workers pilot scheme.

Victoria Atkins: As at 27 January 2020, the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority has carried out 8 inspections of farms, in partnership with UKVI, since the seasonal workers pilot scheme commenced in September 2018.

Agriculture: Seasonal Workers

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Seasonal Workers Pilot scheme prior to making the decision to expand it.

Kevin Foster: We are satisfied with how the pilot has been operating.We are still gathering evidence prior to a full evaluation and the expansion of the pilot will assist this. Our election manifesto set out plans to expand the pilot.

Windrush Lessons Learned Review

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to Answer of 15 January 2020 to Question 1929 on Windrush Lessons Learned Review, what the timeframe is for her Department to receive the final report from Wendy Williams.

Kevin Foster: The Windrush Lessons Learned Review is an independent review. The date on which the Department will receive the final report is a matter for the Independent Reviewer.Once the report is received by the Home Secretary it will be published as soon as practicable.

Police: Recruitment

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she is making on the recruitment of new frontline police officers in the West Midlands.

Kit Malthouse: In October 2019 Home Office confirmed officer allocations for every force in England and Wales in the first year of the uplift. The Home Office is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to support all forces deliver these allocations.West Midlands Police has been allocated 366 officers in year 1 of the uplift.The Home Office publishes the statistical series 'Police workforce, England and Wales' on a biannual basis. The next publication is scheduled for release on Thursday 30 January and will contain information on the number of officers in post as at 30 September 2019. Data on joiners and leavers are published annually, in the July release of the bulletin, which covers the situation as at 31 March.https://www.gov.uk/government/news/home-office-announces-first-wave-of-20000-police-officer-uplift

Durham Constabulary: Recruitment

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of (a) the quantity of additional funding Durham Constabulary will be allocated receive for training and recruitment and (b) the number of additional police officers expected to be recruited by Durham Constabulary in each of the next five years.

Kit Malthouse: The 2020/21 police funding settlement announced on 22 January set out that Durham Constabulary will receive up to a maximum of £133.3m funding in 2020/21 if precept flexibility is fully utilised, an increase of £9.7m on 2019/20.Durham will be able to recruit an additional 68 officers during 2020/21, the first year of the Government’s commitment to recruiting 20,000 more police officers over the next three years.

Crime Prevention: Young People

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the role youth centres, sports activities and community groups play in reducing anti-social behaviour and criminal activities.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to increase detection rates for (a) anti-social behaviour, (b) burglary and (c) criminal damage.

Kit Malthouse: The Government is clear that these crimes, when they take place, should be reported to the police so that they can be investigated appropriately. It is for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, as operational leaders and elected local representatives, to decide how best to respond to individual crimes and local crime priorities but to help ensure that the police have the resources they need to do so, we are recruiting 20,000 officers over the next three years.The Home Secretary meets regularly with her Cabinet colleagues to discuss government priorities, which include crime and anti-social behaviour.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on funding drug rehabilitation services to support crime reduction.

Kit Malthouse: The Home Office recognises that there are strong links between drug misuse and crime and continues to engage with other government departments at official and ministerial level to discuss these issues.This includes the Department of Health and Social Care, which has policy responsibility for drug treatment services.

Cabinet Office

Elections: EU Nationals

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether EU citizens (a) with pre-settled or settled status and (b) without it will be eligible to (i) stand as candidates in and (ii) vote in local government elections in England and Wales in 2020, including the London Assembly election.

Chloe Smith: The UK Government has been clear that the issue of local voting rights of EU citizens living in the UK needs to be considered alongside the rights and interests of British expats living abroad.The rights of EU citizens to vote and stand in local elections will not immediately change on exit from the EU. We are seeking reciprocal bilateral agreements to maintain this right. The Government has already signed reciprocal bilateral agreements with Spain, Portugal and Luxembourg to guarantee local voting and candidacy rights for UK nationals in those states. Together these three voting rights treaties protect the rights of a third of UK nationals living in EU Member States.In that context the Government can confirm that resident EU citizens will be able to vote and stand in the May 2020 local elections in England (including London Assembly elections) and the May 2020 Police and Crime Commissioner elections in England and Wales. Those elected to office will be able to serve their full term and this will also apply to those elected before 2020.The National Assembly for Wales is responsible for the franchise in local elections in Wales and elections to the Nationals Assembly for Wales. The UK Government is responsible for the franchise in the Police and Crime Commissioner elections in England and Wales.

Arms Length Bodies

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans the Government has to review the legal framework for arms-length bodies.

Jeremy Quin: There is no single legal framework for arm's length bodies (ALBs). ALBs are sponsored by individual departments, and the legal framework pertaining to any particular ALB will depend on how it has been established.

Employment: Mothers

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of employment of women with young children since 2015.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.



UKSA Response 
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Intelligence and Security Committee

Afzal Khan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2020 to Question 4773 on Russia: Subversion, how long the process to establish the new Intelligence and Security Committee will take.

Oliver Dowden: Members are appointed by the Houses of Parliament (having been nominated by the Prime Minister in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition). The Chair of the Committee is elected by its Members.Nominations require careful consideration and consultation. The committee is being formed in the normal way and at a normal pace.

UK Government Union Capability Independent Review

David Mundell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to publish Lord Dunlop's Review of UK Government Union Capability.

Chloe Smith: Lord Dunlop has concluded his review and the UK Government is carefully considering its recommendations.

Department for International Trade

Overseas Trade: Africa

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the UK's trade relationship was with each African country in the last five years.

Graham Stuart: Over the last five years the UK has consolidated stronger trade and investment partnerships with African countries, supporting businesses to enter and expand across African markets, and deepening our bilateral engagement to open new trade and investment opportunities. Over this time the UK has offered almost all African countries preferential access to its markets as beneficiaries of the European Union’s unilateral trade preferences scheme or as parties to trade agreements with the EU. There are 44 African countries that receive duty-free quota-free access to the UK under EU arrangements that also offer preferential access to a further eight African countries. As we leave the EU, we have sought to replicate the effects of EU trade arrangements and have secured trade continuity with 46 African countries. The UK’s trade flows with each African country are published by the Office for National Statistics.

Trade Agreements

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many bilateral trade deals the Government will be able to sign on 1 February 2020.

Conor Burns: We have an ambitious programme to maximise the opportunities of leaving the EU on the 31 January, including Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), championing the WTO and rules-based system, and securing market access wins. The government has a manifesto commitment to have free trade agreements with countries covering 80% of UK trade within 3 years of leaving the EU. This includes negotiating FTAs with the US, Australia, New Zealand and Japan in parallel to negotiations with the EU. We are planning to launch rest of world trade negotiations as soon as possible after we leave the EU.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Gambling

Stephen Flynn: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a mandatory levy on gambling firms to fund gambling addiction treatment, education and research.

Helen Whately: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 27 January 2020.The correct answer should have been:

The Gambling Commission requires all operators licensed under the Gambling Act 2005 to make a contribution towards the research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm. Most operators donate to GambleAware, a charity which commissions dedicated support for problem gamblers, as well as research and awareness-raising on gambling-related harm. For the 2018-19 financial year, operators donated £9.6mbn to GambleAware, and industry body the Betting and Gaming Council estimates that operators gave a further £9.7m to other charities. For that same financial year, the gambling sector paid around £3bn to the exchequer in gambling taxes.GambleAware commission support and treatment services for those suffering through gambling problems, including the National Gambling Helpline and counselling services provided by GamCare. GambleAware commissioned services complement those of NHS England who are scaling up treatment provision for problem gambling as part of the NHS Long-term plan. This will see up to 14 new specialist clinics open in the next 5 years, 2 of which have opened already. The Health Secretary has also announced that a cross-government addiction strategy, to include gambling, will be published in 2020.In May 2018 the government published its response to the consultation on gaming machines and social responsibility measures, which made clear that if industry failed to provide the funding needed to meet current and future needs, government would consider all options, including a mandatory levy. Following this, in July 2019, five large gambling operators announced that they will increase the amount they give tenfold, from 0.1% to 1% of their gross profits over the next four years, and as part of this have committed to spend £100 million on treatment.

Helen Whately: The Gambling Commission requires all operators licensed under the Gambling Act 2005 to make a contribution towards the research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm. Most operators donate to GambleAware, a charity which commissions dedicated support for problem gamblers, as well as research and awareness-raising on gambling-related harm. For the 2018-19 financial year, operators donated £9.6mbn to GambleAware, and industry body the Betting and Gaming Council estimates that operators gave a further £9.7m to other charities. For that same financial year, the gambling sector paid around £3bn to the exchequer in gambling taxes.GambleAware commission support and treatment services for those suffering through gambling problems, including the National Gambling Helpline and counselling services provided by GamCare. GambleAware commissioned services complement those of NHS England who are scaling up treatment provision for problem gambling as part of the NHS Long-term plan. This will see up to 14 new specialist clinics open in the next 5 years, 2 of which have opened already. The Health Secretary has also announced that a cross-government addiction strategy, to include gambling, will be published in 2020.In May 2018 the government published its response to the consultation on gaming machines and social responsibility measures, which made clear that if industry failed to provide the funding needed to meet current and future needs, government would consider all options, including a mandatory levy. Following this, in July 2019, five large gambling operators announced that they will increase the amount they give tenfold, from 0.1% to 1% of their gross profits over the next four years, and as part of this have committed to spend £100 million on treatment.

Sports: Disability

Catherine West: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to increase participation by people with disabilities in sport.

Nigel Adams: Government recognises the great importance of sport and physical activity for disabled people who take part, at both the grassroots and elite levels. Government’s strategy for sport and physical activity, ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for An Active Nation’, aims to create a more physically active nation, where people of all ages and backgrounds can enjoy the benefits that sport and physical activity can provide. The strategy focuses on people in groups that are currently less likely to take part in sport and physical activity, which includes disabled people. Sport England, our national sport council, invests in programmes that help disabled people get active and make sport more inclusive of their needs. They also ensure that programmes for disabled people are included across each of their investment programmes. Since 2016 they have invested almost £40m to support disabled people to get more active.On 27 January I made a statement announcing our decision to add all future Paralympic Games to Ofcom’s list of “protected” sport events, meaning the Games will remain free to watch, rather than be subject to a subscription service or be paid for. This will enable the Games to reach the widest possible audience, and aims to increase visibility of para-sports globally. The full statement is available to read here: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2020-01-27/HCWS66/.

Sports: Children

Catherine West: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to help increase the participation of children in sport.

Nigel Adams: The School Sport and Activity Action Plan sets out our commitment to ensuring that all children and young people have access to at least 60 minutes of high quality PE and physical activity every day. We are working closely with the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care and will publish more detail on our ambitious plans later this year. I regularly meet with Sport England who are investing over £190m into physical activity for children and young people over 2017-2021. This includes programmes such as the £40m Families Fund, which encourages low-income families with children to do sport and physical activity together. Sport England is also investing up to £125m to improve sports facilities across England.

Arts: South Yorkshire

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the potential effect of an integrated transport system on the creative industries in South Yorkshire.

Nigel Adams: Strong transport connections are important to all businesses but particularly so for creative industries, which rely on bringing together creative talent. Growth of creative industries in particular locations benefits neighbouring areas and therefore support for creative hubs can boost the local economies around them. Furthermore, creative industries are overwhelmingly micro businesses and SMEs with a network of suppliers and collaborators including freelancers. For these networks to function effectively, communication links are critical.South Yorkshire benefits from a number of fast-growing creative industries such as Sheffield’s strengths in digital, publishing and design alongside that of Sheffield’s universities widely recognised . South Yorkshire also neighbours other counties with fast-growing creative industries clusters including fashion in Leeds and film, TV, games and media in York, both of which have benefited from recent investment via the Arts & Humanities Research Council’s £100m Creative Industries Cluster Programme.

Television: Licensing

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with representatives from the BBC on the decision to remove the free TV licence for pensioners aged 75 and over.

Nigel Adams: The Secretary of State has met with the Chairman of the BBC Board and the Director-General of the BBC and asked them to do more to help those affected by the BBC’s decision. The Government is disappointed with the BBC's decision to restrict the over 75 licence fee concession to only those aged over 75 and in receipt of Pension Credit. We recognise the value of free TV licences for over-75s and believe that they should be funded by the BBC.

House of Commons Commission

Electronic Equipment: Parliament

Justin Madders: To ask the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether any brands of mobile electronic equipment have restrictions on accessing Parliamentary (a) software systems and (b) wifi.

Pete Wishart: There are no restrictions in place for any brands of mobile electronic equipment when accessing Parliamentary software systems and wifi.

Northern Ireland Office

Veterans: Northern Ireland

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the Prime Minister's oral contribution of 15 January 2020, Official Report, column 1020, what the Government's definition is of vexatious prosecutions; and how legislative proposals will prevent vexatious or unfair prosecutions of veterans who served in Northern Ireland.

Julian Smith: The Government is committed to reforming the current legacy system in Northern Ireland in a way which provides reconciliation for victims and greater certainty for veterans. Nobody who has served in our armed forces should be subject to unfair prosecution in cases where no new evidence has been provided.

Women and Equalities

Equal Pay: Public Sector

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the gender pay gap in the public sector.

Victoria Atkins: We are working across government and with representative bodies to address the gender pay gap in different public sector workforces.This includes supporting the Department of Health and Social Care and the independent review of the gender pay gap in medicine led by Dame Jane Dacre. We are also encouraging initiatives in other public sector workforces, including policing and different parts of the education sector.To support all employers, we have published evidence-based guidance on practical actions they can take to create more inclusive workplaces.

Females: Managers

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent steps she has taken to ensure that more women are appointed to (a) leadership and (b) executive roles in companies.

Victoria Atkins: The Government has commissioned and supports the business led, independent Hampton-Alexander Review which has a 33% target for women on boards and in senior leadership positions across the FTSE350 by close 2020.The Government also supports the recently launched Leaders As Change Agents board which is working to increase diversity in critical decision-making roles.Women hold a higher percentage of senior leadership positions than ever before. I am pleased to report the good news that the FTSE100 have achieved their 33% target ahead of schedule. The FTSE350 have 31.5% women on boards and 28.2% of women in executive positions and their direct reports.

Gay Conversion Therapy

Christine Jardine: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the 2018 LGBT Action Plan, when the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban the practice of conversion therapy.

Victoria Atkins: Attempts to ‘cure’ somebody of their sexual orientation or gender identity, otherwise known as conversion therapies, are wrong. This Government will deliver on the LGBT Action Plan, including the commitment to end conversion therapy. This is a complex set of issues that we are taking our time to get right, and we have commissioned research into the experiences of those who have been subjected to this abhorrent practice.We are engaging widely before bringing forward proposals and will set out our next steps in the coming months to ensure that the actions we take are proportionate and effective.